Canberra, Jan 26: Many of Australia`s top women executives are paid only half as much as their male counterparts, according to a report issued on Friday.
The government-commissioned survey found women held only 7 per cent of senior executive jobs in Australia`s top 200 public companies and were paid far less than men in equivalent positions.
Female Chief Financial Officers and Chief Operating Officers earn half the remuneration of men in the same job, according to the data gathered by Macquarie University. Female Chief Executive Officers are paid two-thirds of the salary of top corporate men, the report said.
The report comes after recent government statistics revealed Australian women are paid 35 per cent less than the average male earns each week.
Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek described the results as "quite extraordinary." "What`s actually surprising about these figures is that the disparity between the highest paid women and men is greater than at lower levels of the work force," Plibersek told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio. "That`s something that`s very difficult to explain."
But Plibersek ruled out government intervention to correct the imbalance. "Frankly, I don`t know how business can explain this and I think it would be well worth boards of directors and shareholders giving some consideration to this problem," Plibersek said.
Bureau Report
