The Finance and Insurance Industry’s Equal Pay day is 29 days later than that of the general population.
Today Australian workers mark Equal Pay Day – marking the additional 59 days women have to work from the end of the last financial year (30 June) to earn the same amount as men. The date is worked out using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that compares average base salaries of men and women, which shows a gender pay gap of 14%.
Unfortunately, when we single out our industry “Financial and Insurance Services” the gender pay gap is a whopping 24% – that’s comparing average weekly ordinary time earnings for full time workers. When we apply the same formula to this figure, Equal Pay Day for the finance industry falls on 26 September.
This year we’re recognising both dates – today we are launching our #PayTransparencyMatters campaign building on the work we did earlier this year, when we wrote to your employers asking them to remove pay confidentiality clauses from your employment contracts.
Key Facts Equal Pay Day 2019
- The national gender pay gap is 14%, the Financial and Insurance Services industry national pay gap is 24%.
- On average, women working full time in our industry earned $1699.20 while men working full time earned $2237.1 each week.
- Full time average weekly earnings difference between men and women in our industry is $537.90 each week.
The gender pay gap affects men, too!
You may not realise it, but the gender pay gap isn’t just a women’s issue. Men are often not given the same opportunities to access to paid parental leave and flexible work that women can access. Improving equality of access to these opportunities is key to driving down the gender pay gap. You can see more information about the impact on men here: www.wgea.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news/dads-the-word
What can I do?
Between now and 26 September we’re asking FSU members to have a conversation with your colleagues about your pay – this might be your pay rate, your pay expectations or your experience with bonuses. You might be surprised at what you find out. Have a conversation and then post a pic on social media using this downloadable selfie poster, and tag @FSU_Australia. On 26 September we’ll launch a collage with all your pics, highlighting the 24% gap and our campaign for pay transparency.