Gender pay gap narrows but men still twice as likely as women to earn more than $120,000 a year

The gap between what men and women earn has narrowed but persists with research suggesting men are now twice as likely to earn more than $120,000 a year than women.

Data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency released on Friday shows women typically earn about $25,000 less than men.

The overall gender pay gap continued its downward trend for the 2020-21 financial year, pegged at 22.8%, meaning that for every $10 a man earned a woman made about $7.72.

The pay gap includes super, bonuses and additional payments but excludes salaries for chief executives and heads of business, 81% of whom are men.

The biggest gaps are in construction, financial and insurance services, and the professional, scientific and technical services sectors, which have pay gaps between 24.7% and 30.6%.

Seventy-three per cent of organisations have gender pay gaps in favour of men, while 20% have achieved parity and 7% have a gap in favour of women.

Companies were not being held accountable or forced to show change, Von Reibnitz said.