A series of reports and surveys focusing on issues of gender discrimination and salary bias based on gender have surfaced, in time for International Women’s Day this week.
These reports have revealed that the Australian financial services sector, inclusive of and especially accounting, has the highest gender pay gap, as well as low numbers of women in leadership roles.
For example, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), in collaboration with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), released the Gender Equity Insights 2017: Inside Australia’s Gender Pay Gap report, based on information reported by over 12,000 organisations that capture more than 4 million Australian employees.
BCEC director Professor Alan Duncan focused on the gender pay gap in the accounting industry in particular.
“Accountancy, which is part of the finance and insurance services sector of the report, has historically had a relatively high gender pay gap,” Professor Duncan said.
“It actually ranks at the top across all industry sectors in relation to the gender pay gap.”
In 2015-16, the average full-time base salary for women in the financial and insurance services sector was $84,593, almost $30,000 less than their male counterparts whose average full-time base salary was $114,204.
This represents a 25.9 per cent gender pay gap and puts the financial and insurance services sector at the top of the table above all other sectors.
This follows the release of concerning data from the ATO, which showed that in the 2013-14 financial year, there were major and ongoing pay gaps between female and male accounting professionals.
For example, women who fell into the accountant and chartered accountant category had an average taxable income of $71,552. Men in the same category, however, had an average taxable income of $105,107.
For male tax accountants, the average taxable income was $75,854. For their female counterparts it was $61,239.
The gaps were just as significant with tax agents or consultants. The average taxable income for a woman was $52,006. For a man, it was $79,982.
For external auditors, the average female taxable income was recorded at $61,222. For a man, it was $71,595.
Female internal auditors averaged a taxable income of $79,833, while male internal auditors enjoyed a $98,558 average.
