New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the national gender pay gap is the lowest on record - today falling to 11.5 per cent from 12 per cent in November 2023, and 14.1 per cent in May 2022. Under the Albanese Government, women's average weekly earnings have increased $173.80 a week since May 2022.
Labor came to government in 2022 with a commitment to drive action to close the gender pay gap. Since then, we have seen the gender pay gap drop to all-time lows over four consecutive reporting cycles.
Quotes attributable to Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese:
"We came to Government with a commitment to help close the gender pay gap and that's exactly what we're seeing.
"That's not a coincidence, it's because the Government has taken action like banning pay secrecy clauses, modernising the bargaining system, enforcing transparent gender pay gap reporting and delivering pay rises for aged care and child care workers."
Quotes attributable to Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher:
"Closing the gender pay gap means that women are taking home more money at the end of each week.
"Whether it be by boosting the pay of early childhood educators and aged care workers by 15 per cent, backing a pay rise for minimum wage workers or banning pay secrecy clauses - Labor is doing work right across the economy to lift women's pay.
"This progress isn't just good for women - it's also good for men, good for children, good for the economy and good for the community.
"Closing the gender pay gap is a key ambition of Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality, because we know that it is both a driver and a result of inequality. We know there is still work to do and we will keep going.
"As well as lowest gender pay gap on record, we now also have reached a record high for women's workforce participation at 63.2 per cent"
Quotes attributable to Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Murray Watt:
"We've secured record pay rises for hundreds of thousands of women on award wages, fixed the bargaining system to get wages moving in feminised industries, and changed workplace laws to put gender equity at the heart of the Fair Work Commission's decision-making.
"We said we'd get wages moving again and that's exactly what's happening.
"This is despite the Opposition opposing almost every single one of these measures and promising to repeal a range of Labor's laws that are delivering better pay for Australian workers.
"At the same time the gap has narrowed, an extra 510,000 women are now in jobs since the Albanese Government came to office, with 60 per cent of these jobs full-time."
The ABS average weekly earnings data can be found online: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/average-weekly-earnings-australia/latest-release
Information on the gender pay gap can be on the WGEA website: https://www.wgea.gov.au/data-statistics/ABS-gender-pay-gap-data
