Australian employers are making “modest” progress towards reducing the gender pay gap, new data shows.
The national wage gap fell 0.7% in the 12 months to September 2025, according to the latest Gender Equality Scorecard from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
The gender pay gap is now 21.1%, down from 21.8% last year. In real terms, this means that for every dollar a man earns, women make an average of 78.9 cents.
The difference adds up to $28,356 for the year.
Context
The gender pay gap refers to the difference in how men and women are paid across all levels and industries.
It does not mean paying men and women differently for the same job, which is illegal.
In 2023, the Government passed a law requiring businesses with at least 100 workers to publish their gender pay gap.
The legislation mandated that the data be published by the WGEA, a national body tasked with reducing gender discrimination for workers.
WGEA’s Gender Equality Scorecard now provides “an annual update on the state of workplace gender equality” for full-time, part-time and casual workers across different companies and career stages.
The first tranche of data, released last year, showed the ‘median’ (middle) pay gap in earnings between men and women.
WGEA publications now also include the average remuneration of CEOs, heads of businesses, and casual managers.
Latest findings
The WGEA sets a gender pay gap “target range” of between -5% to +5% to account for normal workplace changes.
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According to its latest report, “50% of employers have a gender pay gap above 11.2% with only 22.5% of employers having a gender pay gap in the target range.”
70% had a gender pay gap favouring men, and only 6.7% favoured women.
More than half of employers (55%) successfully reduced their pay gap. However, the WGEA attributed this, in part, to “uneven wage growth”.
The Scorecard noted an increased representation of women in leadership and on boards, but a widening gap in CEO salaries.
“The gender pay gap at the top increased 1.2% points to 26.2% in the past 12 months,” according to the WGEA.
After bonuses, overtime and additional payments are factored in, male CEOs take home an average of $185,335 more than their female counterparts per year.
Improvements
The report showed that workplace equality was improving in some areas.
For example, almost all workplaces (99%) had policies in place to address sexual harassment.
Men also took 20% of all parental leave this year, up 0.3%.
Shared domestic labour is a key factor in boosting women’s workforce opportunities and participation.
This year’s WGEA scorecard identified three key focus areas for employers: ensure safety from harassment in the workplace, improve the gender balance, and dismantle stereotypes.
The report found that more employers are consulting their employees on issues of gender equality, and this is leading to positive pay outcomes.
“WGEA encourages all employers to undertake a comprehensive gender pay gap analysis and as part of that review performance pay structures and access to overtime, to ensure they are fair and accessible for everyone,” CEO Mary Wooldridge said.
