Down Under: Gender pay gap is widest in Western Australia

In Western Australia, the pay difference between men and women is worst as revealed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.

The pay per week gap is $483.80 between the full time, seasonally adjusted earnings of men and women in the resources-rich Western Australia, where both sexes take home the nation's biggest pay packets.

The next worst state for the gender pay gap is NSW (New South Wales), with a difference of $316.60 per week.  Unlike in South Australia where the pay was fairest, the gap is only $151.20.

Tasmanian women, on the other hand, earns the country's most modest weekly pay of $1,187.30, with a gender gap of only $ 159.60.

It was inequitable and wrong that WA women earned 25% less than men, according to UnionsWA Secretary, Meredith Hammat. She called on governments and employers do more to support in the following workforce and assist with the costs of caring.

Ms. Hammat said, "When women take on caring roles, the pay gap can be entrenched for the rest of their lives including into retirement through lower superannuation." 

She also added that women are more likely to meet family costs of living that are already high in WA compared to men.

"Stronger measures are needed to address pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, whether it's losing permanency after returning from maternity leave or employers request to work flexible hours", she added.

Meanwhile in the US, women who work full-time earn only 77% of what their male counterparts earn.  It means that women need to work approximately 60 extra days, or about three months, to earn what men did by the end of the previous year.

Even if a large number of females are hired in high-paying jobs which are generally dominated by male, like managerial or professional positions, females as a whole continue working in a lower-paying occupation than men do.