Australia girls top in school, not pay
29 July 2015 by News Desk
Girls outperform boys at school in Australia and have more university degrees, but men earn more in the workplace.
That’s the finding of a new study by the Council of Australian Governments that highlights the progress for women and girls in society. Girls score higher in reading and writing NAPLAN tests and are more likely to complete year 12. Boys are slightly better in numeracy though the gap is narrower. Women under 30 are more likely to hold a bachelor degree than men of the same age.
But in the workforce a gender pay gap still exists with women paid about 17.5%, or $266 a week, less than men. The disparity exists even within the same profession in many cases, and once the different average hours worked by men and women are taken into account.
“The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report recently ranked Australia first in female educational attainment out of 136 participating countries – but when it came to labour force participation we plummeted to 52nd,” said John Brumby, chairman of the COAG Reform Council.
