Gender pay gap largest of all industries

Last Fri, FWA said it would only increase the minimum wage by around three per cent. Now, the EOWA has released data which shows the gender pay gap in the health care and social assistance sectors is the worst of all industries in Australia.

By Yasmin Noone

The pay gap between male and female health care and social assistance workers is greater than those in any other industry sector throughout Australia, according to a new report by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA).

The EOWA report, Gender Pay Gap Statistics, found that women working in health care and social assistance are paid almost 32 per cent less than men in the same or similar roles.

It stated that the gender pay gap in the sector has increased by around four percent in the past year. The gap is also significantly higher than the average 17.4 per cent shortfall between female and male average weekly earnings across all sectors.

“These figures show that work in this sector is not being fairly remunerated and this is unacceptable in 2012,” said EOWA’s director, Helen Conway.

“Remuneration of women within this female-dominated sector does not always reflect the underlying value of their work.

“Caring work has long been stereotyped as ‘women’s work’ or an extension of the unpaid and undervalued work that women have traditionally performed at home.

“Why does an entry-level zoo keeper position attract a base salary of $19.50 per hour when an entry-level personal carer is paid $15.90 to look after our elderly?”

The recent Productivity Commission inquiry into the aged care sector backed a case for paying fair and competitive wages to workers to combat increasing difficulties for the sector in attracting and retaining staff.

The PC report said the poor bargaining position of a highly feminised part-time work force is a factor limiting success in raising wages above relevant industry awards.

Last Friday, 1 June, Fair Work Australia (FWA) issued its decision on the Annual Wage Review 2011-12 case, which sought to increase the Australian minimum wage. The full bench concluded on a national minimum wage of $606.40 per week or $15.96 per hour.

According to the FWA decision, “The increase in modern award minimum wages we have decided on is 2.9 per cent. Weekly wages will be rounded to the nearest 10 cents”. “…This constitutes an increase of $17.10 per week or 45 cents per hour”.

The hourly rate was calculated on the basis of a 38 hour week for a full-time employee.

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) has expressed concern about the recent minimum wage ruling and said the increase is not enough to enable nurses to keep pace with the rising cost of living.
 
This, the union said, was despite nurses again being voted the country’s most ethical and honest professionals in the Roy Morgan Image of Professionals Survey 2012. 

ANF Federal Secretary, Lee Thomas, said many nurses, midwives, and assistants in nursing (AINs) working in medical clinics and aged care facilities were already being paid sub-standard wages, earning as little as $19 to $20 an hour.

“The decision by Fair Work Australia to award an increase of just 2.9 per cent has failed to acknowledge these nursing and care staff, who are among Australia’s 1.4 million award-dependent workers,” Ms Thomas said.

“We believe this very small increase in the minimum wage will do precious little in addressing the wage disparity between award-dependent nurses and care staff and the rest of the workforce.

“…Nurses represent the largest proportion of Australia’s health workforce, delivering quality care each and every day across the full spectrum of the public and private healthcare system, from working in hospital emergency departments, mental health facilities, right through to looking after the frail and vulnerable in nursing homes.”

On a positive note, the EOWA said that nine organisations in the health and social assistance sector have received the 2012 Employer of Choice for Women citation this year, for their efforts to eliminate the gender pay gap and provide equal opportunities for all employees.

Epworth HealthCare, for example, has received the citation for more than 10 years, recognising its programs to achieve pay equity and to ensure women are not under-represented in senior management positions.

The company undertakes a pay equity analysis twice a year, and has established a classification system based on position content rather than title to remove the potential for any gender bias in remuneration decisions.

“We have worked hard to ensure the executive team, in particular, has an appropriate gender balance, and this has fostered a workplace culture founded on equity and respect,” said group CEO, Alan Kinkade.

“Fairer wages make working in aged care, health care and community organisations a more attractive career prospect,” said Ms Conway.

“These Employers of Choice are leading the way to gender equality by stripping the gender bias out of the evaluation and remuneration of positions.”

Tags: anf, caring, eowa, equal-opportunity-for-women-in-the-workplace, fwa, health-care, helen-conway, minimum, nurses, nursing, social-assistance, wages,

2 thoughts on “Gender pay gap largest of all industries

  1. I can understand the facts that are presented to favour the equality of women in the workforce, however, Men work in care as well, and are paid the same as the women that they work along side.

    More men are needed in the care environment as we care for both men and women. Men are the most undervalued as carers for the skills they bring to a team or personalised centered care.

    This should not be a fight for womens rights but a fight fight for the value we give to careing for the elderly and the special talented people that do the caring work that others could not bare to do.

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