Work & Family

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Women's pay and employment patterns

Introduction

Despite a number of changes in the labour force, the industrial relations system and the way we work, women are still paid comparatively less than men. A multitude of factors impact upon the take home pay that women receive, including the nature of their employment, the occupations and industries in which they are employed and their trade union membership.

What are women's working patterns?

• In 1966 women made up 31% of the NSW workforce, while in 1995 they constituted just under 43% of the workforce.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 4107.1)
• In August 1995, 52.1% of all women in NSW aged over 15 years were participating in the labour force (the national female average was 54%). This was significantly lower than the equivalent male participation rate, which was 72.7%.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6201.1)
• Women's levels of participation in the labour market vary during their working lives. For example, the participation rate of married women is lower during the childbearing age range of 25-34 years.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 4107.1)
• In 1995, just under 40% of employed women in NSW worked on a part time basis. Women made up about 75% of all part time employees in NSW.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6201.1)

Where do women work?

The occupations and industries in which women participate significantly tend to be limited in number. As a result, jobs in certain industries and occupations have come to be classified as `women's jobs' and `men's jobs'.

• Currently, more than half of all NSW employed women are located in the occupational groups of clerks and salespersons. 76.5% of clerks and 62.8% of salespersons in NSW are women.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6201.1)
• Women are far less likely than men to be employed in managerial or administrative positions. In 1993, women constituted only 26.4% of all employees in this occupational group.
  (NSW DIRETFE, 1993)
• In 1994, only 7.3% of employed women worked as managers or administrators, while 14.9% of employed men worked in this occupation.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 4107.1)
• Women employed in NSW tend to dominate the service based industries: health and community services (75.3% female), education (67.4% female), finance and insurance (55.24% female), retail trade (51.7% female) and accommodation, cafes and restaurants (50.77% female). The overall female labour force participation rate in NSW is only about 43%.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6203.0)
• Industries in NSW with very low proportions of female employment include Mining (2.3% female) and Construction (13.7% female). Within these industries women are frequently employed in lower paid and lower status positions.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6203.0)

Do women belong to trade unions?

• In August 1993, 33% of women employed in NSW were members of trade unions, compared to 42% of men. The membership rate was higher for women employed full time (39%) than it was for women who worked part time (24%).
  (ABS Catalogue No. 4107.1)
• In August 1995, women in the public sector were more than twice as likely as women in the private sector to be union members (50.7% and 20.4% respectively).
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6310.0.40.001)
• The occupations which women dominate numerically are amongst those with the lowest concentrations of union membership. For example, in the private sector in 1995, only 10% of women working in clerical occupations and just under 22% of female salespersons and personal service workers were unionised.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6310.0.40.001)

What do women earn?

• In May 1995, the average weekly base pay of adult women in full time non-managerial work in NSW was 93.6% of the equivalent male base rate. However, women earned only 25.5% of payments made to men over the base pay level.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6306)

  Differential levels of access by women and men to paid overtime (among other things) contribute to the marked wage differential in women's and men's earnings above base pay level.

• Wage rates in male and female dominated industries tend to vary according to their gender-segregated characteristics. Generally, wage rates in industries and occupations which employ a significant number of male employees are higher than those which are dominated numerically by women.
• Wage rates for women employees working in male dominated industries or occupations are, on average, higher than for women employed in female dominated industries and occupations. For example, in May 1995 in NSW, full time female adult salespersons and personal service workers in the Retail Trade industry (a female dominated industry) earned less than equivalent females employed in the Wholesale Trade industry (a male dominated industry). The average weekly total earnings in these industries were $458.20 and $588.10 respectively.
  (ABS Catalogue No. 6306)

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics and the NSW Ministry for the Status and Advancement of Women, Women in New South Wales, Catalogue No 4107.1.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Labour Force- New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, August 1995, Catalogue No 6201.1.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Labour Force, Australia, May 1995, Catalogue No 6203.0.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Distribution and Composition of Employee Earnings and Hours for NSW, May 1995, Catalogue No 6306.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Weekly Earnings of Employees (Distribution), August 1995, Catalogue 6310.0.40.001.

NSW DIRETFE, Women's Jobs and Men's Jobs: A Long Way to Go 1986-1983, Sydney 1993.

NSW Pay Equity Taskforce A Woman's Worth: Pay Equity and the Undervaluation of Women's Skills, Issues Paper, August 1996.

Further information

Women's Equity Bureau
NSW Office of Industrial Relations
McKell Building, 2-24 Rawson Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone 131 628
Fax (02) 9020 4700