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Retail’s Gender Pay Gap Is Shrinking – but Fashion Has a Problem

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2026 report shows Australia’s overall employer gender pay gap narrowing, with the private‑sector midpoint falling to 11.2% and the median to 8.0%, each down 0.9 points year‑on‑year. More than half of employers reduced their gaps, and the share of firms within the acceptable ±5% range rose modestly. However, the distribution of men and women across pay quartiles remains uneven—men are 1.8 times more likely to occupy the top quartile while women dominate the lowest—driving larger gaps in higher‑paying industries such as fashion. Discretionary components like bonuses and overtime still generate a 29.7% gap, underscoring persistent structural issues.