Campaign to close financial services gender pay chasm
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has begun a campaign to reduce the gap between male and female wages in the financial services industry, a gap it claims is the largest of all industries in Australia.
FSU research has found that the average woman working in financial services earns just 57 per cent of what the average man earns. The union has begun negotiations with the major banks to conduct a series of ‘pay audits’, to find out why.
“[The union will be] asking the banks to take an honest look at their pay data…We may start with choosing one or two occupations and comparing the earnings of men and women. FSU will move to address the causes of the pay gaps identified,” said the union in a statement.
The FSU said probable reasons for women’s low pay were their higher rate of part-time employment, the fewer promotion and training opportunities which sprung from this part-time status, and the prevalence of women in service jobs and men in sales-related jobs, which had the largest bonuses and commissions attached.
The union said these factors were not confined to Australia, pointing out the UK financial services sector also had it’s country’s largest gender pay imbalance.
The FSU is seeking stories from workers on the gender pay issue to take to the banks.
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