Equal Pay Day

To mark this year’s Equal Pay Day on 28 August 2020, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has calculated the date of each Australian state and territory’s Equal Pay Day.

The new national gender pay gap for the six months to May 2020 is 14.0%. This year, Equal Pay Day will be on 28 August 2020, marking the 59 additional days from the end of the previous financial year that women, on average, must work to earn the same as men earnt that year.

To mark this year’s [Un]Equal Pay Day on 28 August 2019, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has calculated the date of each Australian state and territory’s [Un]Equal Pay Day.

Last week, in the lead up to Equal Pay Day, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, (‘the Agency’) in  partnership with KPMG Australia and the Diversity Council of Australia, launched the newest instalment of She’s Price(d)less: the economics of the gender pay gap.

Each year, many different countries across the globe mark their own versions of Equal Pay Day in the calendar year and put their own spin on how to highlight the gender pay gap.

We have waited 59 [un]equal days and finally today is Equal Pay Day, Wednesday 28 August. [Un]Equal Pay Day marks the additional 59 days women must work from the end of the last financial year to earn the same amount as men.

In 2019, [Un] Equal Pay Day falls on Wednesday 28 August, marking the additional 59 day’s women have to work from the end of the last financial year to earn the same amount as men. [Un]Equal Pay Day is a symbolic indicator of the significance of the national gender pay gap and why it matters for Australian women.

The gender pay gap – while it looks like just a number on a page, it means so much more in reality. Ahead of Equal Pay Day this Wednesday 28 August 2019, it is important that we take a step back and really look at what the gender pay gap means for you, your family, your workplace and Australia.

Last month, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (‘the Agency’) published a quiz testing the public’s knowledge on the gender pay gap. Since its release, the Agency has received over 500 responses. The average score was 71% - 9.2 out of 13. Around one in five respondents scored within 90%-100%. 

The national gender pay gap remains stable at 14.0%, a drop of just 0.1pp over the last six months. This year, [Un] Equal Pay Day will be on 28 August 2019, marking the 59 additional days from the end of the previous financial year that women must work, on average, to earn the same amount as men earned that year.