[Australia] Barbie and Matildas help narrow gender pay gap

In Australia, new data suggests that a so-called “Barbie and Matildas effect” - the wave of positivity following Greta Gerwig’s film and the Women’s World Cup - could help support renewed progress towards gender financial equality, Investor Daily reports.

The country’s gender pay gap fell to a record low of 13 per cent during the June quarter, down from 13.3 per cent at the start of 2023.

The narrowing gap was reportedly reflected in a 2 per cent increase in average weekly wages for women during the month of May compared to a 1.6 per cent increase for men.

However, the latest quarterly Financy Women’s Index (FWX) - published last week - revealed that the timeframe for the gender pay gap to close is 24.3 years, up from 24.2 years in the last quarter.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has stated that women, who on average earn $252 less than men per week, need to work an extra eight weeks or 56 days beyond the end of the financial year to make up the difference the gender pay gap creates. As a result, the WGEA named August 25 as Equal Pay Day for 2023.

Regarding average wage growth, Financy highlighted that female-dominated industries (3.4 per cent) continued to underperform their male-dominated counterparts (3.8 per cent).

In addition, the healthcare and social assistance sector - the largest employer of women - was reportedly found to have one of the biggest sector pay gaps at 21 per cent, behind only professional, scientific, and technical services at 22.7 per cent.

According to Financy, the improvement in the gender pay gap, as well as an increase in the number of women appointed to ASX 200 directorships, did help the FWX lift to 76.5 points, up from a revised 76.2 points in the March quarter and 0.4 points higher year to date.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman - Financy’s founder - said, “It’s exciting to see the gender pay gap shrink to a record low at a time when there has never been greater media focus on the pay gap, particularly in light of the Barbie movie phenomenon and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.” 

Women accounted for 36.4 per cent of ASX 200 board directors in the June quarter compared to 36 per cent in March. The uptick was reportedly highlighted as the most impressive gain in the latest FWX. The timeframe for gender equality fell to 5.7 years, down from 5.8 years in the March quarter.

Of the seven gender financial equality indicators measured, employment was the only area in which progress declined. The growth rate in monthly hours worked by men was 1.5 per cent during the June quarter versus only 0.7 per cent for women.

The Barbie and Matildas effect

Simone Cheung - Deloitte Access Economics partner - said, “While the FWX is showing more positive signs this quarter and as we come off the highs of Barbie and the Matildas, the real test will be how women fare as the cost-of-living crisis deepens and economic growth slows.

“The question of whether the modest improvements in the FWX are enough of a buffer for women as we enter a period of growing economic uncertainty remains to be seen.”

Ms Hartge-Hazelman said the “Barbie and Matildas effect” could help to support a resurgence in progress towards gender equality. She reportedly drew comparisons with the MeToo and Times Up movements in terms of their potential to challenge and change social attitudes.

“However, the big difference is that the Barbie and Matildas effect has been indicative of positive cultural sentiment through entertainment,” she said.

The FWX's previous fastest pace of progress was in the years following MeToo and Times Up, with a 3 per cent rise in 2019 and a 4 per cent increase in 2020. However, the pandemic resulted in a slowdown in progress during both 2021 (1 per cent) and 2022 (-1 per cent).

“Barbie has raised awareness around gender equality to a whole new level but in a very positive way and the Matildas showed women’s sport can be just as popular as men’s sport,” Shane Oliver - AMP chief economist - said.

“We just have to keep building on these favourable events to make sure that they are turned into lasting change in reducing gender financial inequality.”

Financy also announced that the timeframe to equality in employment had improved from 27.1 years in December 2022 to 26.8 years this June, while the timeframe to equality in unemployment worsened from 19.8 years in March to 21.2 years in June.

Source: Investor Daily

(Quotes via original reporting) 

In Australia, new data suggests that a so-called “Barbie and Matildas effect” - the wave of positivity following Greta Gerwig’s film and the Women’s World Cup - could help support renewed progress towards gender financial equality, Investor Daily reports.

The country’s gender pay gap fell to a record low of 13 per cent during the June quarter, down from 13.3 per cent at the start of 2023.

The narrowing gap was reportedly reflected in a 2 per cent increase in average weekly wages for women during the month of May compared to a 1.6 per cent increase for men.

However, the latest quarterly Financy Women’s Index (FWX) - published last week - revealed that the timeframe for the gender pay gap to close is 24.3 years, up from 24.2 years in the last quarter.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has stated that women, who on average earn $252 less than men per week, need to work an extra eight weeks or 56 days beyond the end of the financial year to make up the difference the gender pay gap creates. As a result, the WGEA named August 25 as Equal Pay Day for 2023.

Regarding average wage growth, Financy highlighted that female-dominated industries (3.4 per cent) continued to underperform their male-dominated counterparts (3.8 per cent).

In addition, the healthcare and social assistance sector - the largest employer of women - was reportedly found to have one of the biggest sector pay gaps at 21 per cent, behind only professional, scientific, and technical services at 22.7 per cent.

According to Financy, the improvement in the gender pay gap, as well as an increase in the number of women appointed to ASX 200 directorships, did help the FWX lift to 76.5 points, up from a revised 76.2 points in the March quarter and 0.4 points higher year to date.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman - Financy’s founder - said, “It’s exciting to see the gender pay gap shrink to a record low at a time when there has never been greater media focus on the pay gap, particularly in light of the Barbie movie phenomenon and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.” 

Women accounted for 36.4 per cent of ASX 200 board directors in the June quarter compared to 36 per cent in March. The uptick was reportedly highlighted as the most impressive gain in the latest FWX. The timeframe for gender equality fell to 5.7 years, down from 5.8 years in the March quarter.

Of the seven gender financial equality indicators measured, employment was the only area in which progress declined. The growth rate in monthly hours worked by men was 1.5 per cent during the June quarter versus only 0.7 per cent for women.

The Barbie and Matildas effect

Simone Cheung - Deloitte Access Economics partner - said, “While the FWX is showing more positive signs this quarter and as we come off the highs of Barbie and the Matildas, the real test will be how women fare as the cost-of-living crisis deepens and economic growth slows.

“The question of whether the modest improvements in the FWX are enough of a buffer for women as we enter a period of growing economic uncertainty remains to be seen.”

Ms Hartge-Hazelman said the “Barbie and Matildas effect” could help to support a resurgence in progress towards gender equality. She reportedly drew comparisons with the MeToo and Times Up movements in terms of their potential to challenge and change social attitudes.

“However, the big difference is that the Barbie and Matildas effect has been indicative of positive cultural sentiment through entertainment,” she said.

The FWX's previous fastest pace of progress was in the years following MeToo and Times Up, with a 3 per cent rise in 2019 and a 4 per cent increase in 2020. However, the pandemic resulted in a slowdown in progress during both 2021 (1 per cent) and 2022 (-1 per cent).

“Barbie has raised awareness around gender equality to a whole new level but in a very positive way and the Matildas showed women’s sport can be just as popular as men’s sport,” Shane Oliver - AMP chief economist - said.

“We just have to keep building on these favourable events to make sure that they are turned into lasting change in reducing gender financial inequality.”

Financy also announced that the timeframe to equality in employment had improved from 27.1 years in December 2022 to 26.8 years this June, while the timeframe to equality in unemployment worsened from 19.8 years in March to 21.2 years in June.

Source: Investor Daily

(Quotes via original reporting)