Western Australia (WA) consistently has Australia's largest gender pay gap, often attributed to its significant mining and construction sectors with high male earnings, while Tasmania generally has the smallest gap, according to recent data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). For instance, in late 2025, WA's gap was 28.8% compared to the national average, with Tasmania at 10.6%.
Australia's total remuneration gender pay gap over time
The Average GPG including CEO/HOB pay was first reported in 2023–24 at 21.8%, then slightly decreased to 21.1% in 2024–25. The Median GPG was first reported in 2020–21 at 21.1%, then declined each year to 16.4% in 2024–25.
In 2019–20, the female dominated occupations with the highest proportion of women remain unchanged over the last decade:
New South Wales (NSW): The Epicentre of Job Opportunities:
Sydney, the state capital, is the country's largest and most economically active city, which means there is strong demand for workers in various sectors such as finance, technology, healthcare, engineering, and tourism.
Yes, $70k is a fair salary in Australia, often near the median income, making it a decent living for a single person, especially outside major cities, but it can be tight in expensive areas or for those with high living costs like mortgages, with full-time averages now closer to $90k-$100k.
The World Economic Forum's 2025 Global Gender Gap Report has seen Australia rise 11 places in the global rankings to 13th out of 148 countries for gender equality, the highest ever ranking since the Index began in 2006.
40:40:20 simply refers to the ratio of: 40% men, 40% women, 20% of any gender. It's a business practice that many organisations around the world have or are committing to, striving for gender equity not only at the top level, but across all levels of its business.
South Australia has the smallest gender pay gap at 7.4%. Between November 2020 and 2021 the gender pay gap has decreased in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, and South Australia. The pay gap in the Northern Territory decreased by -1.7 pp, while the pay gap in Victoria increased by 3.0 pp.
Coles Group owns Coles supermarkets among other Australian businesses — and has the lowest average total remuneration gender pay gap of all the companies on this list. Women employed by Coles Group are receive 6 per cent less than men in total annual compensation.
ATO data reveals huge gender pay gap for teachers – even in a female-dominated profession. Teaching is one of Australia's most female-dominated professions but tax office data exposes a shocking gender pay gap – both in the classroom and the principal's office.
People in Australia continue to campaign for gender equality and have achieved significant outcomes in recent years. But many women and gender diverse people still face violence, harassment and unfair treatment, and are still underrepresented, overworked and underpaid across many domains in Australia.
Gini index values by state
New York (Gini index = 0.5208), Connecticut (0.5008), Massachusetts (0.4975), California (0.4953), and Louisiana (0.4915) were the states with the highest Gini coefficients in 2022; Washington, D.C. (0.5111) had the second largest value, behind only New York.
Industries with the highest pay rates have the highest gender pay gaps. In three industries, Mining, Electricity, Water and Waste Services and Financial and Insurance Services, 90% or more employers have a gender pay gap in favour of men and more than 80% of those employers have a gender pay gap above 9.1%.
No, Australia is not 90% white; while a large majority identify with European ancestry (around 76-80% in recent years), a significant and growing portion identifies as Asian, African, Middle Eastern, or Indigenous, making it a highly multicultural nation with diverse ethnic backgrounds, not overwhelmingly white. Recent census data shows European ancestry (English, Irish, etc.) makes up a large chunk, but Asian ancestries are also substantial, with over 17% Asian population and around 3.8% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, per the 2021 census data from Wikipedia.
In Australia there are almost 100,000 more women than men, with 6 out of our 8 states and territories experiencing a man drought, while the Northern Territory and Western Australia have a significant male surplus.
Unemployment rates in Australia are highest among young people, being 6.7%, in the 15 to 19 year age group and 6.3% for those aged 20 to 24 years, compared with 2.2% for the population aged 25 years and over [1].
Overall, Hawaii was ranked as the most gender-equal US state, followed by New York, Maryland and Maine. Wyoming was left trailing at the bottom, reporting the most significant gender disparities, followed by Utah, Idaho and Texas. Other states ranked highly on particular equality metrics.
The biggest human rights issues in Australia center on the systemic discrimination and poorer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, reflected in overrepresentation in prisons, lack of constitutional recognition, and disparities in health/justice, alongside significant concerns for asylum seekers/refugees (offshore detention, indefinite detention) and widespread gender-based violence, with intersecting issues for people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and climate impact.
9 Countries With the Biggest Gender Pay Gaps – and the 3 That Have Closed Them
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If you make $90,000 per year, your salary per hour is $45. 55.
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According to ABS data, just 2.61 million Aussies – or about 10 per cent of the population – earn $100,000 or more a year. Many people will never reach a six-figure income in their working lives.