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On 8 March 2019 we celebrated International Women’s Day, and this year’s theme was ‘Balance For Better’. We were encouraged to think about how we can help create a more gender-balanced world, and one place that immediately springs to mind is in the workplace.
For the working women of Iceland, life is good. Or at least, as good as it gets. Once again, Iceland was ranked #1 in The Global Gender Gap Report 2018, meaning that economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment are afforded to women here like they are nowhere else. Iceland is closely followed by Norway, then Sweden and Finland. This phenomenon is known as The Nordic Nirvana – it’s these countries who consistently work to remove obstacles that stand in the way of women.
But where was Australia ranked in the most recent Global Gender Gap Report? We were ranked #39. As of 22 February 2019, the average full-time weekly earnings of a women were $1,455.80 and the average full-time weekly earnings of a man were $1,695.60 , leaving us with a 14.1% gender pay gap. The careers for women where the gender pay gap is widest are in the finance and insurance services sector, with a gap of 26.9%. The best careers for women who want to rule out the gap as much as possible are in the public administration and safety sector (where the gender pay gap is 5.1%). This doesn’t take into account women who work part-time.
This gap between Australian men and women’s wages is influenced by a number of factors, the most significant of those being:
- discrimination and bias in hiring and pay decisions
- women and men working in different industries and different jobs, with female-dominated industries and jobs attracting lower wages
- women’s disproportionate share of unpaid caring and domestic work
- lack of workplace flexibility to accommodate caring and other responsibilities, especially in senior roles
- women’s greater time out of the workforce impacting career progression and opportunities.
It’s easy to let all this information get you down. So we’ve complied a list of high paying jobs for women in Australia, as well as career paths that provide the most job satisfaction. Just try to momentarily forget that men in these roles get paid more and you should feel better in no time!
1. Judges
Average salary: $355,844
What makes it great: We need an equal mix of both men and women on our judiciary, making the tough decisions and maintaining law and order. Three women currently sit on the High Court of Australia as judges – Susan Mary Kiefel AC, Virginia Bell AC and Michelle Gordon AC. 3 out of 7 ain’t bad, but we could always do with more!
2. Neurosurgeon
Average salary: $323,682
What makes it great: Women using their big, powerful brains to fix other people’s big, powerful brains. What’s not to love about that! Neurosurgeons specialise in the surgical treatment and management of conditions that effect the brain, spine and nervous systems.
3. Futures trader
Average salary: $281,600
What makes it great: Futures traders tend to fall into two groups, hedgers and speculators. The former use futures contracts to hedge against price risk, the latter help tp generate liquidity in the futures trading market by day trading in this area.
4. Dermatologist
Average salary: $195,030
What makes it great: Dermatology is a branch of medicine that focuses not only on skin, but on nails and hair as well. You can specialise in both medicine or surgery, so why not take your love of skin care to the highest level!
5. Member of Parliament
Average salary: $173,331
What makes it great: In Australia, we love having a whinge about politicians – so it’s great when a lady rolls up her sleeves and decides to change the political landscape herself. It takes guts, no matter what party you represent, to put yourself out there and make the difference that you want to see.
6. Psychiatrist
Average salary: $152,437
What makes it great: Psychiatrists specialise in diagnosing and treating people in mental illness. What could be more rewarding than helping people with their mental health conditions?
7. Securities and finance dealer
Average salary: $145, 208
What makes it great: Securities and finance dealers deal in the marketplace on behalf of clients, develop lists of appropriate investments for clients and plan buying and selling activities. People joke that women only know how to spend money, but when it comes to making investments and watching them grow – we are pure fire!
8. Petroleum engineer
Average salary: $133,315
What makes it great: We can rock a hot looking rig, and we can sure as hell work on them too! Petroleum engineers use their knowledge of chemistry, physics, geology and economics – the perfect role for a STEM lady.
9. Mining production manager
Average salary: $133,061
What makes it great: Mining production managers are responsible for planning, organising and supervising the activities of the mine. We can get down and dirty just as well as any man can. Meet Exhibit A – Jenn Dee, aka Barbie of Darkness, who is both a Miss Tattoo Australia and a dump truck operator. Get it girl!
10. Information and communications tech
Average Salary: $125,000
What makes it great: Integrating our telecommunications technology has never been more important, so of course we need women to get in there and have their creative ideas heard!
11. Stock broker
Average salary: $124,433
What makes it great: We have to get more women into the heart of finance if we want to close that wide wage gap. It’s not like we’re incapable of being stock brokers – on the contrary, we kill it! She’s not Australian, but this is Lauren Simmons, the New York Stock Exchange’s only full time female stock trader. And she’s inspiring AF, so let her motivate you!
12. Geophysicist
Average salary: $117,575
What makes it great: Travelling in your field, working outdoors, flexing your maths and data skills, if you’re all about the Earth and the science behind it, there could be a budding geophysicist inside of you waiting to come out!
Australia’s professional sporting women
We’ve talked about careers that you conduct from an office, but what about careers that require you to get yourself out on the pitch? 2019 is going to be a good year for making sure Australia’s sporting women get the pay cheque they deserve. The Male Champions of Change (MCC) have released their Pathway to Equality Initiative, detailing all the specific actions needed in order to close the gender pay gap in sport. We want an even playing field – literally and figuratively!
1. Rubgy
Last year, Rugby Australia and the Rugby Union Player’s Association decided that womens and mens rugby seven teams would finally receive the same pay, $44,500 for entry level players no matter their gender. Australia’s womens rugby sevens team are the reigning Olympic Champions… and it took until 2018 to get them the same pay as their male counterparts.
2. AFL
Women’s AFL players received a pay rise at the start of the 2019 season in a landmark deal that was long overdue! Player groups were split into four tiers, instead of the previous 3, and the wages are now as follows:
- Tier 1: $24,600
- Tier 2: $19,000
- Tier 3: $16,200
- Tier 4: $13,400
“Players continue to juggle their football responsibilities, with full or part-time jobs, study and family life and this deal will help shape an environment where they can thrive” said AFLPA CEO Paul Marsh. “Gender equality continues to be a driver for our organisation and we’re proud to have achieved that by tying the minimum wage to that of the minimum wage for male footballers until 2022.” That’s what we want to hear!
3. Rugby League
In 2018, the first NRLW season attracted a cumulative audience of 1.85m and their matches boasted the highest average audience (67,948) of any women’s football competition in Australia last year. So don’t let anyone tell you that Australian fans don’t care about women in rugby league!
4. Cricket
Australian female cricketers got a huge boost in 2017 with a pay deal that saw total female player payments increase from $7.5 million to $55.2 million – finally cricket for women can be a profession and not just a hobby.
Fields women are excelling in:
These are the fields that, according to the Australian Tax Office, provide women with job satisfaction, career advancement and a competitive salary.
1. Marketing and PR
Average salary: $71,000
What makes it great: We know how to sell a product and we know how to deal with the public perception – no wonder we are killing it in this field.
2. Events Management
Average salary: $80,000
What makes it great: We’ve got the eye for design, we’re organised, we know how to make a day that bit extra special – let’s hear it for the ladies crushing it in events management!
3. Entrepreneurship
Average salary: The sky’s the limit!
What makes it great: If you’ve got an idea, don’t keep it to yourself, get it out there! Entrepreneurship does not discriminate – jobs for pregnant women, jobs for women who may not have a university degree, jobs for women over 50, all of these can be found in small grass roots businesses and start ups. You could be well-established in a executive role like these ladies were, and end up creating a entirely new business that benefits so many other women.
4. Trades and the Armed Forces
Trades for women? Hell yes! We say that ‘tradies get the ladies’, but now we’re actively promoting apprenticeships for women because we recognise that ladies are just as hands-on and mechanically minded as men. Same goes for careers in the defence force. Navy, airforce and army jobs for women are crucial, and we are witnessing more and more women rise in the ranks.
5. Human Resources
Human resources is all about making sure that a workforce is being treated fairly, hired correctly, and receiving all the benefits they’re entitled to. Of course women are finding satisfaction in this field – because we all know what it means to be given a fair go in the work place!
These are some of the most high paying, satisfying careers that Australian women are benefitting from. Let’s keep pushing for equality and supporting each other as we ascend the career ladder together!
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