UnionsWA has today released The WA Gender Pay Gap Report 2020 based on an analysis of the most recent data from the ABS. The WA Gender Pay Gap Report 2020 can be viewed and downloaded here. 

Meredith Hammat, Secretary UnionsWA said:

“The facts are stark.

“WA has the largest, the worst, gender pay gap in Australia.

“Nationally the gender pay gap has shown a trend of slightly reducing for three years in a row.

“However, in WA over the same period, the gender pay gap has not improved.

“The gender pay gap in WA is now at 21.4%, that is, the ordinary full-time weekly earnings of women in WA are $412 below that of men.

“The public sector plays a particularly important role for women in WA compared with elsewhere across Australia.

“In WA one in every three women are employed in the public sector, either local, state or federal.

“Three out of every four WA Government employees are women, the highest proportion of any state, territory or the federal government.

“Over the past three years, among men and women employed in the private and public sectors, women in the public sector have gone from having the highest earnings growth to now having the lowest of any of these groups.

“The pay for working women in our school, health and child protection workforce and others who deliver vital local services, leaves them struggling to keep pace with essential costs of living.

“These frontline service jobs are now more complex and challenging than ever before.

“The WA Government has provided for paid domestic violence leave and superannuation contributions while on parenting leave and these are welcome and leading reforms for working women.

“However, to seriously address the gender pay gap, the WA State Wages Policy needs to be fairer.

“A fairer wages policy would address the gender pay gap by better meeting rising living costs.”