Unmasking the Gender Pay Gap Myth: Australia's Statistical Sleight of Hand and the Lobby Behind It, By Peter West and Mrs. Vera West

In Australia, the "gender pay gap" narrative gets trotted out like clockwork — women earning 78.9 cents for every dollar men make, adding up to a $28,356 annual shortfall. It's painted as a scandal of systemic sexism, fuelling calls for more quotas, policies, and taxpayer-funded fixes. But hold on: One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts has been ripping into this lately, calling it a "myth" cooked up by flawed stats that ignore real-world choices. From a sceptical vantage, he's onto something. This isn't about equality under the law — it's a constructed crisis pushed by a powerful women's lobby, bordering on conspiracy to reshape society. Let's dissect the data, the critique, and why forcing "equality" isn't law, nor should it be.

The Data: What the Numbers Really Say (and Hide)

First, the stats. Australia's Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) dropped its 2024-25 scorecard late last year, touting a "record low" total remuneration gender pay gap of 21.1%, down 0.7 points from 21.8%. That's based on data from over 5 million workers across 8,200 employers — women earning 78.9 cents per male dollar, or $28,356 less annually. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) pegs it lower at 11.5% for full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings as of May 2025: men at $2,106.40, women at $1,864.10, a $242.30 weekly gap. Hourly? ABS says 8.4% in May 2025, with men at $50.20 and women at $46.00. KPMG's report ups it to 7.3% hourly in 2023, but notes it's widened from 6.5% in 2020.

Sounds damning, right? But here's the rub: These are raw averages, not apples-to-apples comparisons. They lump everyone together — CEOs with cleaners, full-timers with part-timers, miners with teachers — without adjusting for hours worked, industry, experience, or choices. When you drill down, the "gap" shrinks or vanishes. For instance, WGEA's own data shows progress in lower-paid sectors like aged care and retail, where wage hikes benefited women-heavy workforces. At the top? CEO gaps widened to 26.2%, with women earning $185,335 less in total comp. But that's tiny sample sizes and ignores risk, negotiation, or hours.

Jobs and Skills Australia's study widens it to 30.7% over a 10-year occupational lens, factoring in part-time and casual roles where women dominate. States vary: WA at 28.8%, Tasmania at 10.6%. Overall, it's narrowing slowly, but the headline figures scream inequality to rally the troops.

Malcolm Roberts' Takedown: A Myth Built on Misleading Averages

Enter Senator Malcolm Roberts, who's been grilling the WGEA in Senate estimates and viral videos. His core beef: It's illegal to pay women less for the same job — has been for 60 years under the Equal Pay Act and Fair Work laws. Yet WGEA reports claim 50% of employers have gaps over 9.1%, using aggregates that don't compare like-for-like. Roberts calls it out: These stats ignore "human choice" — women often prioritising family, flexible hours, or safer jobs over overtime, danger pay, or climbing ladders. In one hearing, he hammered WGEA on their own hypocrisy: 78% female staff, a pay gap favouring women ($111,746 vs. $106,141 for men), and 17 women execs to 2 men. If they're preaching equality, why not practice it?

Roberts argues this isn't data, it's propaganda. WGEA's head earns $313,000 to push this, wasting billions on programs that divide rather than unite. He ties it to feminist bias at research bodies, devaluing family units. Spot on: When adjusted for factors like occupation, hours, and tenure, the gap often drops to 3-5% or less globally, attributable to negotiation or other intangibles — not discrimination.

The Conspiracy Angle: Women's Power Lobby and the Push for Forced Outcomes

From a sceptical eye, this smells like a grand construct by a "women's power lobby" — think WGEA, unions, and globalist outfits using stats to demand quotas, targets, and social engineering. New laws require firms over 500 staff to set gender equality targets from 2025-26. It's not about equal opportunity (already law); it's chasing equal outcomes, ignoring biology, preferences, and freedom.

Roberts frames it as a "globalist agenda" sowing division between sexes, undermining families by guilting women into corporate grinds over motherhood. The lobby amplifies raw gaps to justify interventions, costing $1.26 billion weekly in "lost earnings" per KPMG. But is it lost, or chosen? Women flock to undervalued fields like caregiving, while men take risky gigs like mining. Forcing parity? That's not equality — it's coercion, punishing choices and inflating bureaucracy.

No, equality isn't the law here. The law mandates equal pay for equal work, not identical averages across society. Chasing that erodes merit, breeds resentment, and ignores human diversity.

Wrapping Up: Time to Ditch the Myth and Embrace Reality

Australia's gender pay gap data tells a tale of progress — narrowing gaps, more women in management (43%, up 1 point). But the narrative? A statistical sleight pushed by lobbies to manufacture crisis. Roberts' critique exposes it: Compare like-for-like, factor in choices, and the "gap" evaporates. This isn't conspiracy theory — it's pattern recognition. For a sane society, celebrate differences, enforce real laws, and scrap the divisive stats game.

https://www.wgea.gov.au/newsroom/media-release-2025-gender-pay-gap-scorecard-report