Pay & Superannuation
Why the Gender Pay Gap Persists in Australia
The evidence on what drives Australia's gender pay gap: time out of work for care, part-time work, industries divided by gender, seniority and discrimination.
- Author
- Research desk
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 7 min read
- Not explained by measured factors
- 55%
- of the gap, including discrimination
- Linked to time out of work
- 26%
- of the gap, from years out of the workforce
- Closes at recent trends
- 2054–2094
- depending on the period used
Source: KPMG with WGEA and Diversity Council Australia, She’s Price(d)less, 5th edition (released 29 January 2026), analysis of the HILDA Survey for 2023.
The short answer
Australia’s gender pay gap was 11.3% in May 2026. It persists because several things combine over a working life: women spend more time out of paid work caring for children and others, work part-time far more often, and are concentrated in different industries and jobs from men. Men also hold more of the highest-paid roles. A large part of the gap cannot be explained by any of these measurable factors, and that remaining part includes discrimination.
This page sets out the evidence for each driver. For the headline figures, see Gender Pay Gap Statistics in Australia.
What explains the gap
The most detailed breakdown comes from She’s Price(d)less, a report by KPMG with WGEA and Diversity Council Australia. Its fifth edition analyses the HILDA Survey to estimate how much of the gap in hourly pay each factor explains. In 2023, men earned $3.31 an hour more than women on average, in 2025 dollars.
View the data
| 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Additional gender influences, including discrimination | 55% |
| Years not working because of interruptions, such as caring | 26% |
| Working in men-dominated industries | 19% |
| Working in women-dominated industries | 18% |
| Age | 8% |
| Level of education | −10% |
| Working in government or not-for-profit organisations | −15% |
| Factor | 2020 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Additional gender influences, including discrimination | 52% | 55% |
| Years not working because of interruptions, such as caring | 32% | 26% |
| Working in men-dominated industries | 23% | 19% |
| Working in women-dominated industries | 15% | 18% |
| Age | 13% | 8% |
| Level of education | −15% | −10% |
| Working in government or not-for-profit organisations | −20% | −15% |
The largest share, 55%, is what remains after the measurable factors are accounted for. The report calls these additional gender influences, including discrimination, and says they are difficult to control for statistically. Its share rose from 52% in 2020.
Two factors work the other way. The report finds that level of education and working in government or not-for-profit organisations both lift women’s earnings and narrow the gap.
Industries and jobs divided by gender
Women and men still work in different industries. In February 2026, women held 75.5% of jobs in health care and social assistance and 73.1% in education and training, but only 13.9% in construction. Across all industries, women held 48.1% of jobs.
| Industry | Women’s share of jobs | Average full-time weekly earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Mining | 20.6% | $3,224.20 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 40.4% | $2,714.10 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 27.7% | $2,546.00 |
| Education and training | 73.1% | $2,197.90 |
| Health care and social assistance | 75.5% | $2,037.20 |
| Construction | 13.9% | $1,985.30 |
| Retail trade | 54.4% | $1,581.60 |
| Accommodation and food services | 52.5% | $1,509.90 |
| All industries | 48.1% | $2,083.70 |
Women’s share of jobs is for February 2026 and includes part-time workers. Earnings are for full-time adults in May 2026.
The three best-paid industries in the table, mining, information media and telecommunications, electricity, gas, water and waste services, all employ more men than women. The two lowest-paid, retail trade and accommodation and food services, employ more women than men. The pattern is not uniform. Health care and education, the two most female-dominated industries, pay close to or above the all-industry average, yet health care has one of the largest gender pay gaps within it, at 24.2%.
In the She’s Price(d)less analysis, working in men-dominated industries explains 19% of the gap and working in women-dominated industries explains 18%. WGEA lists women and men working in different industries and jobs, with female-dominated work attracting lower wages, among the main causes of the gap.
Part-time work and hours
In August 2026, 43.0% of employed women worked part-time, compared with 20.5% of employed men. Women held 66.0% of all part-time jobs. On average, men usually worked 38.4 hours a week and women 31.6 hours.
Fewer paid hours mean lower weekly earnings. That is why gender pay gaps measured on weekly pay across all employees are much larger than the national figure, which covers full-time workers only. Measured by the hour, which removes the effect of hours, the gap is smaller but still present, at 8.4% to 10.4%.
Unpaid care and time out of work
Women do more unpaid work. In 2024, 90% of women and 81% of men did unpaid work on a given day. Women who did spent 4 hours 53 minutes a day on it, about 1 hour 1 minute more than men (3 hours 52 minutes).
The difference is sharper for parents of children under 15. 88% of mothers looked after their children on a given day, compared with 72% of fathers. Mothers who did spent 4 hours 38 minutes a day on it, and fathers 3 hours 29 minutes.
Time out of paid work adds up. She’s Price(d)less attributes 26% of the gap to years not working because of interruptions such as caring, down from 32% in 2020. Read more in The Unpaid Care Divide and Parental Leave in Australia.
Seniority and the top of the pay scale
The gap widens with seniority. In WGEA’s 2024–25 employer data, women managers earned 22.8% less than men managers. Among CEOs, women earned $83,493 less than men in base salary on average, and $185,335 less once super, bonuses and other payments are included, a gap of 26.2%.
Men are almost twice as likely as women to be among the top 25% of earners, according to She’s Price(d)less.
How long it could take to close
She’s Price(d)less projects that at the average income growth of the past 10 years, the gap would close by 2054. At the average of the past 20 years, it would close by 2094. The report estimates the gap costs about $1.26 billion a week in lost earnings, or $65.8 billion a year.
Sources
All sources checked on 1 October 2026.
- KPMG with WGEA and Diversity Council Australia, She's Price(d)less: The economics of the gender pay gap (5th edition). 29 January 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, March 2026: Table 06 (industry by sex, February 2026). 23 April 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026: Tables 3 (Australia), 10a, 10d and 10g (industry), 12a–12h (states and territories). 13 August 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, Australia, August 2026: Table 1. 24 September 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender indicators. Updated 13 August 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, How Australians use their time, 2024. 17 December 2025.
- Workplace Gender Equality Agency, WGEA Gender Equality Scorecard 2024-25. 27 November 2025.
- Workplace Gender Equality Agency, What is the gender pay gap?. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026. 13 August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What causes the gender pay gap in Australia?
Several factors combine: time out of paid work for care, higher rates of part-time work among women, women and men working in different industries and jobs, and men holding more senior roles. In KPMG's analysis for 2023, years out of the workforce explained 26% of the gap and 55% was not explained by measured factors, a share that includes discrimination.
Is discrimination a cause of the gender pay gap?
Yes, according to WGEA, which lists conscious and unconscious bias in hiring and pay decisions among the causes. Discrimination is hard to measure directly in survey data, so KPMG groups it with other unmeasured influences, which together explained 55% of the gap in 2023.
Does part-time work explain the gender pay gap?
Only partly. 43.0% of employed women work part-time, compared with 20.5% of men, which widens gaps in weekly pay. But the gap remains when pay is compared by the hour, at 8.4% to 10.4%.
How much more unpaid work do women do?
About 1 hour 1 minute a day. In 2024, women who did unpaid work spent 4 hours 53 minutes a day on it, and men 3 hours 52 minutes.
Do female-dominated industries pay less?
Not uniformly. The lowest-paid industries, such as accommodation and food services and retail, employ more women than men, and the best-paid, such as mining, employ mostly men. But health care and education, the most female-dominated industries, pay close to or above the average, although health care has a large gender pay gap within it (24.2%).
When will the gender pay gap close?
KPMG projects the gap would close by 2054 at the average income growth of the past 10 years, or by 2094 at the average of the past 20 years.
How much does the gender pay gap cost Australia?
About $1.26 billion a week in lost earnings, or $65.8 billion a year, according to KPMG's She's Price(d)less report.
About this page
Written by the research desk at Equality Rights Australia. We checked every figure on this page against its official source on 1 October 2026. Read our editorial standards and how we check figures.