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.

Releasing the data would help employees decide where they want to work, investors where they wanted to put their money, and consumers where they wanted to spend, she said.