Minding the gap - The Centre for Independent Studies
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Minding the gap

TP gender pay gapThe ‘gender pay gap’ issue is perhaps the only issue which is more easily understood by a toddler than a supposed academic intellectual. It does not take Einstein to realise that women and men are as different as apples and pears.

Unfortunately, most reporting of the gender pay gap seems to use data averaged across the nation and several categories — effectively trying to make apples pear-shaped.

As of the February 2017 report from the federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the gender pay gap lies at 16%.  But in 2016, recruitment firm Glassdoor conducted a study into the gender pay gap, discovering that when education and industry choice are factored with pay, the Australian gap was reduced by 13.4% — making it almost negligible due to market fluctuations.

Factor that further with working hours, age, marital status and the gender pay gap almost ceases to exist.

Despite equal access, women are still likely to pursue different career paths to men, which contributes to the differing pay and salaries between the two genders. Industries such as finance tend to be more male-dominated, and generally pay better in comparison to industries dominated by females, such as health.

Women also work fewer hours compared to men, often working part time to care for children. The ABS on 2016 working hours discovered that men represent 61% of all full-time employees and women represent 73% of all part-time employees.

Another crucial factor is that women often have fewer consecutive years of employment. Women who leave the workforce for extended periods of time to raise children often face problems keeping abreast, especially in rapidly changing sectors. So many employers don’t value them as highly as men in the recruitment process.

Those who cite overall ‘gender pay gap’ statistics are too often attempting to compare the incomparable.

Tony Peng is a Year 10 student at James Ruse High School, who undertook work experience at the Centre for Independent Studies.