Pay equity survey

Introduction

This survey was designed to ask respondents what they think about the pay equity situation in Australia. The survey looked at perceptions regarding pay equity in Australia, whether respondents recognise the ‘pay gap’, whether they believe women are paid the same as men and what steps should be taken to address any inequities. This included identifying who is mostly responsible for addressing inequities.

Research objectives

To design a simple internet based survey to assess attitudes and understanding about pay equity and to create a benchmark for the future.

Results

The respondents

When the survey was closed, 708 responses had been received, 12 from men and the remainder from women.

Respondents were not required to answer all the questions; therefore the number of respondents for each question does not always reflect the total number of respondents.

Respondents by age (n=688)

Is pay inequity a problem?

Overall the survey respondents very definitely agreed that pay inequity was a problem.

86% of those surveyed rated the pay gap as an extremely important or very important problem. 77% of respondents believe that men and women are not treated equally in the workplace, and a significant 62% reported impacts on themselves or their immediate family.

In the broader picture, women understand how pay inequity affects the economy with 87% believing that the pay gap impacts Australia’s economic growth.

88% of those surveyed responded that they see a clear link between low retirement incomes and pay inequity. Younger women were less likely to understand the link between retirement income and pay inequity; only 67% of the under 20s and 84% of the 20-39 year age group agree there is a link. 91% of women in the 40-59 years age group and 60 years and over agree that this link exists.

What should be done to fix the problem?

The survey reveals that 97% of the 702 women surveyed agree that steps should be taken to close the gap between men’s and women’s earnings, and the majority of respondents identified government as mostly responsible to fix the problem. 94% of the women surveyed said they believe that women should report pay inequity when it occurs.

Employers, government and unions were all seen to carry some responsibility for fixing the problem. In the multiple choice questions, the highest score is for government responsibility, followed by employers, unions and then the individuals themselves. With this question, respondents were able to select multiple options in their response.

Who fixes pay inequity

Government was identified as having the greatest share of responsibility for addressing pay equity with 88% of women between the ages of 20 to 39 expecting the government to fix the gender pay gap, compared to 81% of the women aged 40 to 59.

Younger women also saw a bigger role for employers and unions in fixing the gender pay gap, with 79% giving a role to employers, and 52% giving a role to unions.

In comparison, only 72% of women between 40 and 59 years thought employers should fix the problem, with 50% responding that unions should fix the problem.

Age breakdown%: who fixes pay inequity

This graph shows that government is regarded as the most responsible by all age groups, with employers being regarded as the next most important across all age groups except for older women who see employer and unions as being about equal in importance.

A small sample of younger women 20 years and under has not been included in this chart but have higher expectations of government than older women. Women under 20 see government as being key with 100% saying they want government to fix the problem.

Individuals also are seen to have a part to play in pursuing their own wage equity, with younger women between 20 and 39 years being the strongest on this front at 30%.

Research framework and methodology

2020women conducts research projects through polls and surveys to explore, interrogate and make visible the various ways Australians perceive issues relevant to women.

The equal pay poll was timed to coincide with the Commonwealth government's Equal Opportunity in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) announcement of Equal Pay Day.

In 2008 EOWA marked Equal Pay Day for the first time in Australia. In 2008 it fell on August 27, the date that illustrated the number of extra days women worked after the end of the financial year to earn the same as men. The calculation is based on the gender pay gap using seasonally adjusted ABS Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings at February in the given year (ABS Cat No 6302.0).

Equal Pay Day is largely a symbolic date, and is calculated by adding the gender pay gap as a percentage onto the end of the financial year in days worked (365 days plus 17.2% = 427.78 days or an extra 63 days counting from June 30th end of financial year). In 2009, EOWA calculated that Equal Pay Day would fall on 1 September.

2020women defines equal pay in the following terms:

* Pay equity means receiving equal pay for equivalent work
* It also means putting an end to systemic gender-based discrimination.

Pay equity in Australia has slipped back to where it was 20 years ago in 1989. It was logical, therefore, to use 2020women's survey capability to provide further information that could serve as the foundation for building a sound, current knowledge base on attitudes to pay equity.

The questionnaire was designed in consultation with EOWA and Diversity Council Australia around current topical issues and a trial run was conducted to ensure its authenticity and validity. The survey was available to respondents for 21 days, running from 16 August to 5 September 2009.

The questionnaire was placed on the 2020women website, and an invitation to participate was emailed to approximately 4000 women. Recipients of the email who wished to participate in the research poll accessed the link to the questionnaire through the email. Recipients could also forward the email to friends. The majority of the respondents were from 2020women's membership and their networks, 2020women's Facebook group members and their networks, subscribers to Jenni's Blog (a blog written for the 2020women website), from on-forwarded emails and a small number from 2020women's Twitter followers.

The invitation email also was sent to their members by several organisations, including the Business and Professional Women's Association and Working Women's Centres and other organisations that are members of Womenspeak and Security4women, two of the Commonwealth funded Women's Alliances. In addition, several organisations (including Australian Local Government Women of Australia, Serious Women's Business, Diversity Council Australia, Asian Women at Work) offered to link to the survey on their websites, or on discussion forums.

Research questions

The following questions were asked:

Do you agree that men and women are treated equally in the workplace when it comes to pay?
Strongly agree; somewhat agree; neither agree nor disagree; somewhat disagree; strongly disagree
Would you say that men and women's pay has come closer together in the last twenty years?
Yes; no; not sure
Do you agree that the pay gap is a problem for Australia's economic growth?
Strongly agree; somewhat agree; neither agree nor disagree; somewhat disagree; strongly disagree
How importantly do you rate the pay gap problem?
Extremely important; very important; important; not important
Would you agree that the difference in pay for working men and women is a problem for you or members of your immediate family?
Strongly agree; somewhat agree; neither agree nor disagree; somewhat disagree; strongly disagree
Do you agree that steps should be taken to close the gap between men and women's earnings?
Strongly agree; somewhat agree; neither agree nor disagree; somewhat disagree; strongly disagree
Do you agree that women should report pay inequity?
Strongly agree; somewhat agree; neither agree nor disagree; somewhat disagree; strongly disagree
Who would you say should be responsible for fixing pay inequity?
Employers; unions; government; the people directly affected; no-one; other
Do you agree that lack of pay equity is linked to low retirement incomes for women?
Strongly agree; somewhat agree; neither agree nor disagree; somewhat disagree; strongly disagree

Limitations

The survey was primarily sent to women who have indicated an interest in women’s issues or who are part of networks of women who have an interest in women’s issues. This has potential to result in a skewing of the data in terms of interest and understanding of these issues which could be different to the general female population. The small number of male respondents did not provide a full picture of male responses.

Conclusion

Pay equity is seen by Australian women as a very important issue. There is a strong perception that there are still significant differences between male and female earnings although there is some confusion over how much improvement there has been over the last 20 years. In fact, this lack of understanding that no real gains have been made for 20 years in quite disturbing, particularly in younger women who believe this issue has been resolved.

A significant number of women believe that men and women are not treated equally in the workplace, and a high number have personal experience of this.

Women expect government and employers to take the lead in addressing these issues, and they see government having the larger responsibility to fix this problem.