In 2021, women's average monthly salaries in Sweden were 90.1 per cent of men's. The pay gap between men and women can partly be explained by differences in profession, sector, position, work experience and age.
Over the last decade, the unadjusted gender pay gap decreased in all five Nordic countries. In 2020, Sweden had the lowest pay gap between men and women at 10.5 percent. The pay gap was highest in Finland, above 16 percent. In Europe, Luxembourg had the lowest gender pay gap, whereas it was highest in Latvia.
According to the legislation in the Nordic countries, men and women are to have equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. However, there is some variation in the content of these provisions and the requirements they impose on employers.
In Norway, the overall gender disparity is 13.7 percent. At the job level, the gender disparities in hourly wages are lowest in Sweden (3.5 percent), Norway (4.6 percent) and Denmark (6.3 percent), along with the Netherlands (4.4 percent).
Worldwide gender pay gap statistics
In 2020, the European Union had the highest gender pay gap in Latvia at 22.3% and the lowest in Luxembourg at 0.7%. Korea has the largest gender pay gap in the world at 31.5% and Belgium has one of the smallest gaps at 3.4%.
The national gender pay gap is calculated by WGEA using data from the ABS. As of May 2021, women's average weekly ordinary full- time earnings across all industries and occupations was $1,591.20 compared to men's average weekly ordinary full- time earnings of $1,846.50.
The gender pay gap in each state
In November 2022: Western Australia had the widest gender pay gap at 22.1% Tasmania had the smallest gender pay gap at 6%
In 2021, the gender pay gap in financial and insurance activities varied from 7.0 % in Belgium to 37.5 % in Czechia. Within the business economy as a whole, the lowest gender pay gap was recorded in Sweden (8.6 %) and the highest in Estonia (22.3 %).
According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2021, Norway is in the top 10 for gender parity. The World Economic Forum has published the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 and Norway secured the No. 3 spot.
As of 2021, Belgium is the country with the most equal pay between the genders of OECD countries. The gender pay gap was at 1.17 percent. South Korea, on the other hand, is the country with the highest gender pay gap of the OECD countries with a 31 percent difference between the genders.
Equal pay is where women and men are paid the same for performing the same role or different work of equal or comparable value. In Australia, this has been a legal requirement since 1969. Gender pay gaps are not a comparison of like roles.
Sweden is often touted as the poster-child for abolishing the minimum wage. However, the Nordic nation using a Nordic model is certainly no free-market free-for-all. Instead, minimum wages are set by sector or industry through collective bargaining.
The Nordic economies of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are among the world's wealthiest. Their inhabitants enjoy some of the highest standards of living in the world due to relatively small wage gaps, high employment, and high taxation combined with accessible education and social security.
Nordic countries are considered the most advanced in terms of gender equality and are taken as an example. At the same time, they present alarming high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. This contradiction is the so-called “Nordic Paradox”.
It can seem as a paradox why Nordic societies – which are the most gender equal in the world in many regards – have few women on top of the business world. As this book shows, research literature points to a simple reason for this apparent paradox: the welfare state is unintentionally holding women back.
Gender equality is a cornerstone of the Danish welfare state. When it comes to gender equality parameters, Denmark has been on the forefront for more than a hundred years. That said, Danish men still earn 12.7 per cent more than women. 15 per cent of the difference between men and women's wages cannot be explained.
Australia is ranked 43rd for gender equality internationally. 3.9% are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. 28.3% were born overseas.
The gender pay gap
The 2022 mean GPG (the difference between men's and women's average hourly pay) is 5.45% and the median is 9.71%. In monetary terms, the mean hourly difference in ordinary pay is £1.44 compared to £1.48 in 2021 and the median hourly difference is £2.41 compared to £2.68 in 2021.
Strongly reflecting an intersectional approach to feminism, Sweden's Feminist Foreign Policy is a transformative agenda, aiming at changing structures and enhancing the visibility of women and girls, not just as passive audience but as actors in foreign affairs.
Progress in gender equality
With 83.9 out of 100 points, Sweden ranks 1st in the EU on the Gender Equality Index.
According to MindTribes chief executive Div Pillay, the cultural pay gap sees men of ethnic backgrounds paid as much as 16 to 20 per cent less than their Anglo male counterparts, and women of ethnic backgrounds as much as 36 per cent less. First Nations women suffer the largest pay gap of all.
More than four and a half million Australian employees will be able to access their employer's gender pay gaps starting in early 2024 after the passage of the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 in Federal Parliament today.
The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 has passed the Parliament. That means from early 2024, the gender pay gaps of employers with 100 or more workers will be published – a key reform to drive transparency and action towards closing the gender pay gap.