Julia Gillard’s ascension to the top job in the country has been hailed as a momentous achievement for Australian women. Whatever political persuasion you subscribe to, it’s hard to argue against the symbolism Julia Gillard’s rise represent (at least in the workplace) – that women are men’s equal, are as capable and ought to be rewarded accordingly.

Yet, the reality is a wide gap in pay continue to exist in workplaces across Australia. In fact, the gap between men and women has widen further since 2009. Here’s the latest data from the Equal Pay Day website: 

1. Full-time working women are earning 18% less than men.
2. The pay gap is higher in the private sector (21.7%) than in the public sector (12.1%)
3. The average superannuation payout to a woman is projected to be $150,000, that’s half of the average payout to a man in 2010-11
4. If things don’t change, the average 25 year old male will earn $2.4Million over the next forty years; for the average 25 year old female, that figure is just $1.5Million

It always puzzles me why there is still such a wide pay disparity between men and women in this day and age. At my old workplace Greythorn, where women outnumbered men roughly by a ratio of 3:1, there was no sniff of any disparity. In fact, my recollection is female staff (consultants) earn more than their male counterparts, for the simple reason they generate more revenue. Remuneration was largely dictated by merit, as it should be. Perhaps, the recruitment industry is an exception.

So why do you think women continues to get a raw deal? What is the situation in your organisation?

It’s a well documented fact that male employees tend to earn more than their female counterparts. Why this anomaly still occurs in 21st century workplaces is a  mystery.

Some interesting results on male and female pay disparity is emerging from the recent study we conducted on high-income executives in Australia. Interestingly, male executives tend to get a pay rise as a result of good performance, while female executives are more likely to get a raise if they change employers or move from one department to another.

When asked ‘what triggers your pay rise’ (see chart) more men tend to get their raise from activities (such as performance review and promotion) which, generally speaking, involves a modicum of self-promotion. Arguably, changing employers, through which 24% of female executives received a pay rise compared to 19% for male, is less confrontational than asking for a pay rise.

Are women executives less demanding when it comes to asking for a pay rise? Why are more men getting a pay rise as a result of performance review? Does the disparity in how male and female executives get their pay rise contributes to disparity in the amount earned? If so, why?

I will be dissecting more on the subject in Melbourne. Come along.

“At the end of my salary I always have a lot of month left” – loesje.org

The economy is shuttering, salaries are doomed! Wrong, it’s never completely black or white. In fact, very few things in an organisation are more critical, contentious and complex, than the salaries of staff. Varying widely across industries, regions and companies, how salaries behave is hard to understand and unpredictable.

Yet, remuneration is deeply intertwined with recruitment; it is a subject which will continue to define our industry.

In the coming days, I’ll explore more about the subject in various contexts. Meanwhile, here’s a presentation from a year ago where I discussed about remuneration trends in the technology sector. Some of the data (e.g. unemployment rate) needs updating, but the main themes (e.g. the importance of intrinsic benefits) around the drivers of remuneration trends remain valid.  What is your experience of using remuneration as a recruitment tool?

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