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Gender- Wage Gap

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Gender- Wage Gap
1001EHR Employment Relations
Assessment Item 2: ESSAY

Several explanations have been put forward to explain why the gender-wage gap persists in Australia. Pick two and critically evaluate each.

Within Australia’s workforce history, there has been a strong presence of the gender wage gap between men and women. The differences in wages between men and women still seem to persist in today’s society (Sap 1993). A study by van Wanrooy (2009) suggests that even though there is an increase of women in the labour market, they still have the caring responsibilities, looking to juggle work and family. Throughout the workforce, there is still a significant barrier present which suggests that the ‘male breadwinner’ is still the evident employment model in Australia (van Wanrooy 2009). Women seem to have a people and family first approach to work, while men tend to respect their work life and value money more (Pon and Nyhus 2012).Women’s struggle within the labour market often results from the lack of bargaining power within their chosen occupation and their skills (Preston and Jefferson 2007). Firstly, this essay will discuss the relationship between bargaining power and the current issue of the gender wage gap within Australia. This essay will explore the reasons as to why women struggle to bargain with their employers on the issue of wages and fair working conditions. Secondly, this essay with explore why the difference in personality traits between men and women contribute to the gender wage gap.

A striking explanation for the present gender wage gap within the Australian workforce is the lack of bargaining power that women currently hold in their workplaces. Within Australia, women generally work in low paid and low skill occupations. This in turn limits their access to representation and strong bargaining power when it comes to negotiating pay outcomes, particularly in part time jobs (van Wanrooy 2009). As previously stated, women tend to work in low skilled
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