Data from the quarterly AWE Survey point to a marked widening of the gender pay gap in Australia over the last four to five years. The analysis presented in this paper, based on more detailed data from the most recent EEH surveys conducted in May 2006 and August 2008, provides further confirmation that the gender pay gap in Australia is widening.
There are many possible explanations for the pay gap between men and women. These include occupational and industry segregation, discrimination and women bearing the primary responsibility for care-giving and household work. The gap may also be attributed, in part, to differences between men and women in the coverage of various wage-setting instruments, such as awards, collective agreements and individual arrangements.
As the primary ABS data source on wage-setting arrangements, with highly disaggregated data on earnings, the EEH Survey is a key reference for analysing trends in the gender pay gap and their potential causes. As the analysis in this paper has shown, the data indicate that methods of setting pay do appear to impact on the gender pay gap. Specifically, the gap tends to be wider under individual arrangements but lower under collective agreements and awards.
More detailed analysis and research of unpublished earnings data from the EEH Survey is required, however, to determine the nature and extent to which additional factors (including methods of setting pay) may have contributed to the gender pay gap in Australia.