Workplace gender segregation ‘a handbrake’ on Australia’s economy, major new pay gap report reveals
Major new research has found that men are paid more than women in 98% of occupations, with female workers in Australia typically paid 70 cents for every $1 earned by their male colleague after a decade in work.The 30% average pay gap across workplaces identified in Jobs and Skills Australia’s new report stretches to nearly 40% for First Nations women.Megan Lilly, a JSA deputy commissioner, said the fact that men were paid more than women on average in almost all of the 688 occupations analysed in the landmark report was even more remarkable when considering the substantial range of workplaces where women dominate.Experts blame the persistent gender pay gap in large part on the “motherhood penalty” – the phenomenon where Australian women’s earnings drop by 55% in the five years after having their first child.A higher likelihood of returning to part-time rather than full-time work, and missed opportunities for promotion during time away, mean that penalty is only slightly improved 10 years after giving birth.
Less than two weeks out from Jim Chalmers’ economic reform roundtable, Lilly said “politicians and policymakers need to grapple with these findings and find strategies and policies to deal with economic inequality”,“Gender occupational segregation is actually a handbrake on our economy,”Sign up: AU Breaking News emailMore gender-balanced occupations tended to have more equal pay, but the research revealed these jobs were in a minority: only one in five Australian workers were in occupations with a relatively equal mix of men and women,The report also showed that gender segregation in Australian workplaces was proving stubborn to shift: in about seven in 10 occupations there had been no progress on gender balance in 15 years,Ambulance officers and paramedics, dentists, and barristers were roles that had become less male-dominated, while vets and school principals had moved from gender parity to moderately higher shares of women.
But gender segregation was most acute in lower-skilled occupations, where there had been little change in the mix of men and women in a decade-and-a-half,While no occupation showed meaningfully higher pay for women over men, the report found that occupational pay gaps widen to be at their worst among the most segregated occupations – regardless of whether they were male- or female-dominated,Sign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksafter newsletter promotionFemale registered nurses, for example, were paid $89,720 on average, or 21% less than the $114,420 typically paid to their male peers,That’s despite women accounting for 90% of that workforce and only working 10% fewer hours,Even in the case of childcare – where almost the entire workforce were women – men were typically paid 14% more: $56,240, versus $48,340, according to the JSA’s analysis of Australian Taxation Office data.
Amid a nationwide shortage of workers in key areas of the economy, the report also showed that the most gender segregated occupations – such as in blue collar construction, and “pink” collar nursing and aged care – were also where these labour shortages were at their most acute.Lilly said essentially excluding half of the population from certain occupations was part of the problem.“Gender segregation is exacerbating skill shortages, exacerbating the pay gap, and too many cohorts of women are disadvantaged.And this is all at the expense of a more inclusive and productive society,” she said.“Fix segregation and you fix occupational shortages and gender pay gaps.
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Garmin Forerunner 570 review: running watch stumbles just short of greatness
Garmin’s latest mid-range running and multisport watch has smartened up with a very bright OLED screen, voice assistant and upgraded sensors.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The Forerunner 570 continues the revamp of the company’s running watches, which have all gained more accurate GPS chips and improved heart rate monitors
Trump announces Apple’s plan to invest $100bn in US manufacturing
Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated a commitment by Apple to increase its investments in US manufacturing by an additional $100bn over the next four years.Apple’s plan to up its domestic investment comes as it seeks to avoid Trump’s threatened tariffs, which would increase the tech giant’s costs as it relies on a complex international supply chain to produce its iPhones. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, warned during an earnings call in May that the tariffs could cost the company up to $900m that fiscal quarter alone.After Cook gifted Trump a US-made souvenir with a 24-karat gold base at the Oval Office on Wednesday, the president praised the corporation, telling reporters: “Companies like Apple, they’re coming home … This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in America also are made in America.”Cook said many components of the iPhones are already made domestically, including glass, semiconductors and face ID, but that final assembly of the devices would remain overseas “for a while”
UK car drivers: share your memories and photos of your convertible
According to a new study, convertibles have dwindled to a 25-year low with only 16 new models for sale across the UK’s most popular car manufacturers. SUVs are taking the rap for the decline of convertibles in Britain as people move towards favouring bulkier vehicles.Data from CarGurus UK found that in 2024 there were only 12,173 new convertibles registered in the UK compared to 94,484 in 2004. One of cinema’s most iconic cars is probably the 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible that Thelma and Louise drove on their their adventures.We would like to hear from people who have, or previously had, a convertible
OpenAI in talks on share sale that would price it above Elon Musk’s SpaceX
OpenAI is reportedly in early talks about a sale of shares held by current and former employees that would value it at half a trillion dollars, overtaking Elon Musk’s SpaceX.If the transaction goes ahead, the value of the ChatGPT developer would rise by about two-thirds, from $300bn (£225bn).Musk’s rocket companyis currently worth $350bn and is reportedly circling a $400bn price tag in a new fundraising.Bloomberg, which first reported the OpenAI talks, said existing investors, including Thrive Capital, have approached the company about buying employee shares. Other investors in OpenAI, which is based in San Francisco, include the Japanese investment company SoftBank, which led the $300bn financing, and Microsoft
Lib Dems call for urgent regulation of YouTube ads after wave of scams
The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent regulation of YouTube advertising after scams including deepfakes, impersonated public figures and fraudulent investment claims were found to be spreading on the platform with little oversight.The party said YouTube’s adverts remain largely unchecked by independent regulators, despite new data from Ofcom showing the platform has overtaken ITV in weekly UK viewership and continues to dominate children’s media consumption.Among the recent scams onYouTube was a series of ads using an AI-generated voice and likeness of the consumer champion Martin Lewis to promote a cryptocurrency scheme, despite Lewis having no involvement. The videos, which have drawn thousands of complaints on Reddit and X, mislead users into thinking they are receiving financial advice from a trusted source.Other viewers have reported false product claims, scam diet pills and fake competitions
OpenAI takes on Meta and DeepSeek with free and customisable AI models
OpenAI is taking on Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and Chinese rival DeepSeek by launching its own freely available artificial intelligence models.The ChatGPT developer has announced two “open weight” large language models, which are free to download and can be customised by developers.Meta’s Llama models are available on a similar basis, and OpenAI’s move marks a departure from ChatGPT, which is based on a “closed” model that cannot be customised.Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, said the company was excited to add to a stack of freely available AI models “based on democratic values … and for wide benefit”.He added: “We’re excited to make this model, the result of billions of dollars of research, available to the world to get AI into the hands of the most people possible
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