Gender Pay Review Targets Professional Workers Next

Australia’s workplace regulator is preparing to examine pay levels for graduate lawyers, academics, designers and editors in its next gender pay equity review. The goal is to address historic undervaluation in these roles, and the process could lead to significant changes in wage standards across several skilled professions.

The Fair Work Commission has identified more than 20 modern award categories for further investigation. These include industries that generally require a university degree, particularly professional areas where women make up most of the workforce. This review follows recent increases of up to 30% in wages for care and health sector workers, which were awarded as part of earlier gender equity assessments.

Currently, about 70% of workers in professional roles covered by minimum award rates are women. The commission sees this as a possible sign that these jobs are undervalued, especially when compared with similar occupations. Roles being reviewed include academics, architects, paramedics, graduate legal professionals and performers.

This action is part of a broader effort to reassess wages after the Albanese government made gender equity a formal policy objective in 2022. Although pay reviews for hairdressing, retail and administrative roles were delayed because of their complexity, the commission considers professional jobs easier to address at this stage. However, some industry groups disagree and have raised concerns about the financial impact, especially in the absence of clear government funding plans.

The review process is set to begin in July and will likely involve several hearings. The last round of reviews ran for three weeks and featured over 100 testimonies. These upcoming reviews do not prevent unions from making separate pay equity claims, which some groups such as airline crew have already pursued.

Source: Australian Financial Review, Workplace Gender Equality Agency, EY, Fair Work Commission