Mind the gap

Last week, KPMG launched the fifth edition of their She’s Price(d)less report, a deep dive into Australia’s gender pay gap.

Unsurprisingly, there were some pretty shocking findings, first among which was that after five years, no one has managed to come up with a better title than ‘She’s Price(d)less’. You have to really want that one.

In all seriousness, the data brought home the reality we all know we’re living in.

At current levels of progress, it will take 25 years to close the gender pay gap. Given it is costing the economy around $1.26 billion a week in equivalent earnings, it will mean Australia will lose out on $1.6 trillion in that time. That’s 60% of the country’s current GDP. It’s enough to make a 0.25% interest rate rise seem inconsequential.

The reasons for such a glaring gap are no surprise. 

Gender segregation impacts 37% of women, with female workers overrepresented in sectors like education and healthcare, both of which remain fundamentally undervalued despite the supposed lessons of the pandemic.

Gender bias and discrimination continues to have a significant impact, despite clear and enforceable laws to prevent such action. The role of AI in recruitment is likely to compound, rather than alleviate such issues. 

Meanwhile, Treasury analysis shows women reduce their paid work hours by about 35 per cent across the first five years after the arrival of children, earning 55 per cent less of their pre-pregnancy wage. Men, on the other hand, only see their hours of paid work drop during the first month of parenthood.

Shifting the value or perception of industries is hard, long-term work, while policies outlawing discrimination are clearly still only having a limited impact. The so-called parenthood penalty, however, is an area that is ripe for reform.

More parental leave for men would rapidly equalise any wage-based impact of parenthood. And if you need any more evidence as to why this is a good idea, Spectator Australia hates it.