[Australia] Higher-paid roles twice as likely to be held by men

In Australia, new government data has revealed that men are nearly twice as likely as women to be making $220,000 a year, and minimal progress has been made on closing the nation’s gender pay gap over the past 12 months, The Guardian reports.

The federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) published its gender pay gap results for 10,500 employers. They showed a slight increase in the number of women in highly paid roles. However, men were still 1.8 times more likely to be in the upper quartile of earners, with an average salary of $221,000.

Conversely, women were reportedly 1.4 times more likely than men to be in the lowest quartile of earners with an average salary of around $60,000 a year.

Mary Wooldridge - the chief executive of WGEA - stated that the results should act as a “reality check”.

“The fact that men are nearly twice as likely as women to be in the highest paid roles and that women still dominate the lowest paid roles should offer a reality check for anyone who thinks Australia has achieved equality in the workplace,” she said.

More than 50 per cent of Australia’s employers have a gender pay gap larger than 11.2 per cent, in favour of men. According to the WGEA data, from 2024-25, 22.5 per cent of employers recorded a gender pay gap on the target range. A slight uptick from 21.4 per cent the year before.

In November 2025, WGEA data reportedly found that Australian women earned 78c on average for every $1 earned by men. This amounted, on average, to being paid $28,425 less than their male counterparts in the 12 months to March 2024.

Its new report found that significant differences in discretionary payments, such as performance bonuses and overtime hours, remained a key driver of many employers’ gender pay gaps.

“Employers should treat gender equality like their other business goals,” Ms Wooldridge said. “Do a detailed analysis to find the issues, create an action plan to address them and set targets to be accountable for ensuring progress happens.”

Source: The Guardian

(Quotes via original reporting)

In Australia, new government data has revealed that men are nearly twice as likely as women to be making $220,000 a year, and minimal progress has been made on closing the nation’s gender pay gap over the past 12 months, The Guardian reports.

The federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) published its gender pay gap results for 10,500 employers. They showed a slight increase in the number of women in highly paid roles. However, men were still 1.8 times more likely to be in the upper quartile of earners, with an average salary of $221,000.

Conversely, women were reportedly 1.4 times more likely than men to be in the lowest quartile of earners with an average salary of around $60,000 a year.

Mary Wooldridge - the chief executive of WGEA - stated that the results should act as a “reality check”.

“The fact that men are nearly twice as likely as women to be in the highest paid roles and that women still dominate the lowest paid roles should offer a reality check for anyone who thinks Australia has achieved equality in the workplace,” she said.

More than 50 per cent of Australia’s employers have a gender pay gap larger than 11.2 per cent, in favour of men. According to the WGEA data, from 2024-25, 22.5 per cent of employers recorded a gender pay gap on the target range. A slight uptick from 21.4 per cent the year before.

In November 2025, WGEA data reportedly found that Australian women earned 78c on average for every $1 earned by men. This amounted, on average, to being paid $28,425 less than their male counterparts in the 12 months to March 2024.

Its new report found that significant differences in discretionary payments, such as performance bonuses and overtime hours, remained a key driver of many employers’ gender pay gaps.

“Employers should treat gender equality like their other business goals,” Ms Wooldridge said. “Do a detailed analysis to find the issues, create an action plan to address them and set targets to be accountable for ensuring progress happens.”

Source: The Guardian

(Quotes via original reporting)