Total wages for men have fallen about 17 times more than wages for women in Western Australia since March, despite a higher rate of female unemployment.
Total wages for men have fallen about 17 times more than wages for women in Western Australia since March, despite a higher rate of female unemployment.
Payroll data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows women’s total wages have fallen 0.5 per cent in WA since the onset of the pandemic in March, as at August 22, compared to an 8.4 per cent drop for men.
That’s despite a very different outcome in unemployment.
The unemployment rate was 7.6 per cent for men, and 9.2 per cent for women, (seasonally adjusted) in July, according to the bureau.
The big difference in wage impact was not just in WA.
Nationally, total wages fell 1.8 per cent for women and 7.7 per cent for men between March 14 and August 22.
To put the numbers in context, men in full-time employment earned $1,998 a week on average in WA (ordinary earnings) as at May 2020, while women earned $1,544.
The long-term income gap can be explained by a number of potential factors, including salary levels in specific industries and the rate of advancement into leadership positions.
Gender representation in industries may also partly explain the very different wage falls during the pandemic.
Total wages in healthcare and social assistance increased 3.3 per cent nationally between March and August, federal Labour Market Information Portal data shows.
Those sectors have a much higher proportion of women employed than men.
In education and training, where women hold more than twice as many roles as men, there was a very slight growth in total wages nationwide over the period, at 0.2 per cent.
By comparison, wages in construction fell 9.4 per cent nationally.
That sector has a much higher percentage of men in the workforce.
Many challenges
Associate Professor Elizabeth Hill, from The University of Sydney’s department of political economy, said the economic impact of COVID-19 would take between three and seven years to materialise.
She said despite the wage data, women were significantly affected in other ways.
“Women have definitely been disproportionately impacted … and bearing the brunt of the fallout,” Associate Professor Hill said.
They were on the frontline in childcare and in the health sector, she said, were more likely to lose work because of the shutdown, and less likely to receive support packages.
That position was supported by the fact the number of unemployed women in WA rose 64 per cent from March to July, according to the ABS, while the number of unemployed men increased 43 per cent.
Governments had focused on infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy, she said, but that would not necessarily flow through to women.
“This crisis is different to others,” Associate Professor Hill said.
“The structure of our economy is different from previous recessions.”
Fiscal stimulus needed to reflect the structure of the economy, she said, particularly the increased level of female participation.
This would mean investing in health and education, and focusing on human capital.
The biggest policy move would be improving access to early childhood education and childcare, Associate Professor Hill said, which would help reduce the cost for women re-entering the workforce.
“This recession will be with us for many years,” she said.
“Investment in social infrastructure is part of a comprehensive response to the current crisis.”
A recent report by the Grattan Institute claimed a $5 billion increase in childcare funding would cut the cost of childcare to less than $20 per day and boost GDP by $11 billion.
In 2018, the federal government increased the subsidy for most families on low incomes from 72 per cent to 85 per cent, as part of a $2.5 billion reform package.
