Women's economic equality now 36 years away thanks to COVID

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The Financy Women’s Index has found women have been set back four years due to COVID-19, with 36 years to wait instead of 32 years.

The Index shows in four months we’ve lost four years.

Key findings include:

  • The Financy Women’s Index rose by 2.4 points in the June quarter to a revised 73.7 points - mostly due to male underemployment than any gains

  • The number of women on ASX 200 boards has increased to 31.3 per cent, up from 30.7 per cent in March, boosting the index

  • Gender gaps widened in the participation rate, full-time employment and the gender pay gap, keeping the Index back

  • There was a decline in female workforce participation in the June 2020 quarter

  • The biggest change was to the underemployment rate, which narrowed by 17.2 points largely due to men losing employment

  • There was a 1 point widening of the participation rate

  • There was a 0.8 point increase in the gender gap in full-time employment

  • Most job losses have been in female-dominated areas such as accommodation, food services, and art and recreation

  • The gender pay gap increased the most in mining, professional, scientific and technical services, accommodation and food services, but the largest pay gap still exists in finance and insurance services, health and professional, scientific and technical services - 22 per cent

  • The gender pay gap has been reversed in personal and professional services, religious, civic, maintenance and private household employment - women are on average paid more than men

  • Equality has also been achieved in formal higher education and vocational studies

  • The gender pay gap (measured in full-time weekly wages) widened to 14 per cent in May, up from 13.9 per cent at the beginning of the year

  • The average gender gap in retirement savings widened to 26 per cent in June compared with 25 per cent at the start of the year

  • The gender gap in unpaid work is likely to widen further, the report says

  • We remain a full generation away from economic equality

  • The results reflect real-world conditions of employment, unpaid work, board member diversity and superannuation