Australia’s Gender Pay Gap For Postgraduate Degrees Has Shrunk

Although there is still a wage gap between men and women in Australia who have finished postgraduate courses, this gap has been significantly narrowing over time, especially when compared to data collected 14 years ago. Men still earn more than women.

This data was taken from the most recent annual graduate outcomes survey conducted by the Social Research Centre at the Australian National University, which was funded by the federal government. In 2022, 130,000 undergraduate and graduate students responded to the survey; the results were cross-analyzed with previous data. 

In 2009, the typical yearly pay of female postgraduates working full-time was A $63,000 (US $41,353.83) compared to A$78,000 (US $51199.98), a 19.2% decrease from their male counterparts.

By 2022, the difference had shrunk to 10.8%, with women receiving a typical annual pay of $89,200 (US $58551.77) vs men’s $100,000 (US $65641.00). In 2022, the average pay for all individuals who completed postgraduate coursework was $91,600 (US$60127.16).

Related link: Australia Takes Steps To Boost Economic Equality For Women

But compared to undergraduate pay, the gender difference in postgraduate incomes is 10.8% higher. In 2022, women who completed their college degrees and were employed full-time made 3% less money than males.

As the research’s data is based on full-time working employees, it is not possible to present conclusions to women who now work part-time due to caregiver duties. Meanwhile, there is a theory that women who have worked for a long time and are seeking postgraduate degrees have been promoted much slower than their male colleagues, which has led to lower incomes. The Australian claims that this is because they had previously taken time off work or worked in part-time employment to take care of their kids.