However, as reported by this year’s Australia’s gender equality scorecard, the finance sector’s pay gap has decreased year on year from its previous 30.3 per cent in 2019, and it has fallen each year from 2013-2014.
The national gender total remuneration gap now sits at 20.8 per cent, down 0.5 per cent from last year. On average, Australian men are taking home $25,679 more than their female counterparts every year.
Meanwhile the difference between men and women in average total remuneration for financial services in 2018-2019 was $48,318.
The gap in average base salaries sat at 22.2 per cent, or $27,111. The national average difference for base salary was 15.5 per cent, or $15,176 per annum.
Finance was among the industries with a lower proportion of women in management compared to women in the workforce, with around 54.7 per cent of employees being women and 41 per cent of leadership roles represented by females.
But the sector had seen a slight bump in women in management, up from its previous 40.7 per cent. At the top end, only 9.5 per cent of finance chiefs are women.
Across industries, only 17.1 per cent of chief executives are female, remaining static year on year and female representation on boards sits at 26.1 per cent.
But not all news for finance was bad. Finance and insurance had the highest proportion of organisations with a formal policy or strategy on flexible working arrangements at 90.6 per cent, in contrast to 72.2 per cent of all companies throughout sectors.
Paid carer’s leave is also commonly offered the finance industry, given by 76.4 per cent of industries, second only to education and training (79.2 per cent).
Sarah Simpkins
Sarah Simpkins is a journalist at Momentum Media, reporting primarily on banking, financial services and wealth.
Prior to joining the team in 2018, Sarah worked in trade media and produced stories for a current affairs program on community radio.
You can contact her on [email protected].
