A dark day on Australian calendars came around recently. It’s not officially marked down, and no alerts are issued. But for 48.7 per cent of the workforce who happen to be female, November 18 marked a significant moment in 2024.

It was the day in which the gender pay gap officially kicked in, and women began working essentially for free until the end of the year.

Even with new efforts from the government, the gender pay gay remains stark in many industries.Credit: Dionne Gain

Though a vocal minority of society loves to pretend the gender pay gap is a myth that women, economists, statisticians and policy experts dreamed up one day, mountains of evidence shows otherwise, both here in Australia and around the world.

Overall, 2024 has been a profound year for discussing and coming to terms with the gender pay gap. In February, laws came into effect that triggered the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) to publish specific gender pay gaps data for specific industries concerning Australian companies with more than 100 employees.

This meant that, for the first time, workers had a clear picture of how their employer and industry were performing. It also meant that companies and sectors dragging their feet could no longer avoid the subject.

At the time, Finance Minister and Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said this brave new world of transparency was “not about shaming” and “not about naming”. Instead, the sunlight approach aimed to provide everybody with a clear understanding of the problem.

Between now and the end of the year, gentlemen, if you see your female colleagues taking it a little easier........

© Brisbane Times