Australia’s workplace gender pay gap decreased in 2024-25, with men continuing to dominate high-paying positions, as per a government report. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) released data showing that half of employers had a gender pay gap favoring male employees by less than 11.2 percent in 2024-25, down by 0.9 percentage points from the previous year. Nationally, 54.8 percent of employers managed to reduce their gender pay gap during the same period.
The report highlighted that in 2024-25, men occupied 64 percent of the top-paying jobs while women held 58 percent of the lowest-paying roles. WGEA’s CEO, Mary Wooldridge, emphasized the disparity, stating that the unequal distribution of men in high-paying roles and women in low-paying positions challenges the notion of workplace equality. The data revealed that 22.5 percent of employers achieved a gender pay gap within WGEA’s target range of 5.0 percent in favor of either men or women, up from 21.4 percent in the previous year.
Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher, noted that the report’s release, which now includes commonwealth public-sector employers, is instrumental in driving progress. Gallagher highlighted the importance of transparency in identifying areas of improvement and acknowledging advancements in gender pay equity efforts.
