Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Australia
Australia: Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings was 14.3% in 2016. ▼ Falling
Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Australia, 1975–2016
Source: OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 14.3% for unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in 2016.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.0% on the previous year and down 14.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Australia peaked at 21.6% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 11.9%, in 2008.
That places Australia 16th out of 29 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 20.1% | 18.4% | 21.6% | 5 |
| 1980s | 19.0% | 18.3% | 20.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.8% | 13.2% | 18.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 15.0% | 11.9% | 17.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.9% | 13.0% | 18.0% | 7 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More work & labour data for Australia
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 66.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 70.7% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 88.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 62.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 80.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 83.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 77.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Australia?
- Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Australia was 14.3% in 2016, according to OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unadjusted gender gap in median earnings recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 21.6% in 1975.
- What is the lowest unadjusted gender gap in median earnings recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.9% in 2008.
- How does Australia rank for unadjusted gender gap in median earnings?
- Australia ranks 16th out of 29 countries with data for 2016.
- Is unadjusted gender gap in median earnings rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The gender wage gap is unadjusted and is defined as the difference between median earnings of men and women relative to median earnings of men. Estimates refer to full-time employees and to self-employed workers.