Australian Industries with the Worst Gender Pay Gap

Leading industry analysis firm IBISWorld has identified the industries in Australia with the largest pay gaps between male and female employees. On average, full-time female employees across all industries and occupations currently earn 13.4% less than their male counterparts. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, this equates to a difference of $242.20 per week.

‘A driving factor of the gender pay gap is unequal representation of women in leadership positions and inflexible working arrangements that do not accommodate for the responsibility of unpaid caring and domestic work,’ said IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst Victoria Baikie.

Financial asset broking services

Together the Investment Banking and Securities Brokerage and the Mortgage Brokers industries have the largest gender pay gap in Australia. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the pay gap for these industries was 48.9% in 2020. A driving factor of the large gap is the lack of women in managerial and leadership positions, with 71.9% of all managers in 2020 being men.

Enterprises in these industries are placing a greater focus on addressing the gender pay gap. Strategies to address the gap have become more common, such as gender parity graduate programs that support women’s entry. However, a higher proportion of males were promoted to more senior roles than women in 2020, hindering improvement in the gender pay gap. Wage costs are projected to grow at an annualised 2.2% and 3.4% respectively over the five years through 2025-26, outpacing revenue growth in both industries.

‘Firms within the financial asset broking services subdivision are increasingly likely to focus on the retention and promotion of women into leadership positions, especially CEO positions, in order to address the gender pay gap,’ explained Ms Baikie.

Sports and physical recreation clubs

The number of women’s clubs in the Sports and Physical Recreation Clubs industry has expanded over the past five years, contributing to a decline in the gender pay gap. The inception of the AFLW in 2017 has significantly contributed to this trend. Nevertheless, the industry gender pay gap was 47.6% in 2020.

‘While the rising popularity of women’s sporting leagues has drawn in sponsorships and supported wage growth for these players, the gap between men and women remains significant,’ said Ms Baikie.

Off the field, women remain prominent in clerical and administrative roles and not leadership industry positions, with women representing only 3.7% of club presidents or CEOs.

Industry revenue is expected to increase by 9.2% over the five years through 2025-26, to $3.9 billion, supported by expanding women’s sporting leagues. The rising popularity of women’s sporting leagues represents a significant opportunity for clubs to increase membership revenue.

‘Increasing media coverage is expected to be a key driver of growth in women’s sports, and will be instrumental in driving its rising popularity,’ said Ms Baikie.

Money market dealers

The Money Market Dealers industry gender pay gap in 2020 was 41.3%. Operators have implemented progressive policies and strategies targeting gender equality, including carer’s leave and flexible working hours. However, a low representation of women in senior or executive managerial positions has driven large disparities in pay.

‘The industry is dominated by the big four banks who have strived for gender equality in senior and managerial roles. However, none of the four largest banks has equal gender representation in their executive leadership team and on their board of directors,’ explained Ms Baikie.

Currently only Macquarie Group, who represents 5% of industry revenue, has equal gender representation on their board of directors, including a female CEO, but not on their executive leadership team.

Real estate services

The proportion of men and women in the Real Estate Services industry is mostly equal, with women making up 46.5% of employees. However, the gender pay gap in this industry is currently 39.8%, driven by a high proportion of women in part-time positions. This factor is likely due to insufficient childcare services and primary carer’s leave for both men and women.

The industry is projected to grow at an annualised 1.8% over the five years through 2025-26, to $29.8 billion.

‘One way for real estate firms to improve the gender pay gap would be to increase the availability of childcare service subsidies, which would likely encourage more women to take up full-time employment,’ explained Ms Baikie.

International and domestic airlines

The gender pay gap across the International Airlines industry and the Domestic Airlines industry was 38.2% in 2020. Air transport professionals, including airplane and helicopter pilots, represents the largest wage gap in the industry, with men earning on average an extra $942.30 a week than women. Approximately 9% of Australian pilots are women, according to JobOutlook, which reflects a male-dominated industry.

The Air Transport subdivision has faced several challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are expected to worsen the industry gender pay gap. Grounding of flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to revenue declining by an annualised 22.4% in the International Airlines industry and 13.7% in the Domestic Airlines industry over the past five years. In response, operators made significant reductions in staff numbers, with employment declining at an annualised 22.3% and 5.5% respectively over the same period. Despite ramping up of flight capacity in the current year and gender parity programs in pilot training courses, opportunities for women to enter the industry remain limited.

‘Airlines will likely bring back their most senior pilots first as flight numbers increase, limiting opportunities for newly trained female pilots. The gender pay gap for the Air Transport subdivision will likely get worse before it gets better,’ explained Ms Baikie.

IBISWorld reports used to develop this release:

For more information, to obtain industry reports, or arrange an interview with an analyst, please contact:
Jason Aravanis
Strategic Media Advisor – IBISWorld Pty Ltd
Tel: 03 9906 3647

Email: mediarelations@ibisworld.com