How often do BPW members find they have to explain the gender pay gap?  Surely, we’ve had equal pay since the Sex Discrimination Act was passed in 1984? 

Yes – we have equal pay for equal work; you can’t pay different rates for men and women doing the same job.  But this has not delivered pay equity.  The jobs that women do are simply not valued the same as work that men do, and women tend to be relegated to lower pay roles than men in workplaces. We don’t have pay equity – there is a significant gender pay gap across and within Australia’s workplaces.

Ruby Leahy Gatfield, Head of Research and Insights at Future Women, has written a helpful explanation that will be useful to clubs planning their Equal Pay Day events this year.