Men in Australia twice as likely to be paid more than women
According to a report by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, men in Australia are twice as likely as women to be paid more (WGEA).
It also stated that 22% of company boards do not have a single woman on them, and that less than one in every five CEOs are female.
"Women are undervalued in Australian businesses and underrepresented in decision-making positions from the very top down," WGEA Director Mary Wooldridge said in a statement.
"At current rates of progress, we will not see gender parity at the CEO level for another 80 years," she added.
According to data, one in every three men in Australia is in the top earning quartile, earning at least A$120,000 ($86,100) per year. Meanwhile, one in every three women is among the lowest-paid workers, earning A$60,000 (US$42,785) or less.
Construction firms have the greatest wage disparity, with women earning 31% less than men on average. This is followed by the financial and insurance industries, which have a nearly 30% gender pay gap.
The WGEA report covers over four million employees in the country and details the impact of the pandemic and the country's initial workforce lockdowns.