Equal Pay Day highlights lifetime cost of gender super gap

Equal Pay Day is highlighting the long-term impact of Australia's gender pay gap, with Australian Retirement Trust (ART) warning lower earnings compound into significant shortfalls in retirement savings.

Equal Pay Day fell on August 17 this year, marking 48 additional days women must work into the new financial year to earn what men earned in the previous year, on average Australia's national gender gap pay currently stands at 11.35%.

Australian women typically retire with around $50,000 less superannuation than men, while ART's Financial Wellbeing Index found 62% of women fear they will not have enough for retirement outcomes, but broader structural changes were still required.

"It's encouraging to see women taking action where they can," Anne Fuchs, executive general manager, advocacy and impact, at ART said.

"But women shouldn't have to solve the gender super gap on their own. Closing it needs policy reform, action from employers and practical support over time."

ART member data showed 17.7% of female members made a voluntary super contribution during FY26, compared with 10.4% of male members. Female members were also more likely to benefit from financial advice, with that rate increasing slightly during the year.

Fuchs said the gender pay gap could have a lasting effect as differences in earnings, workforce participation and caring responsibilities accumulate over time.

"Lower pay, career breaks, part-time work and unpaid caring responsibilities can all reduce super over time," she said.

"So, the gender pay gap becomes a gender super gap."

Women aged 60 to 64 have a median super balance around 25% below that of men, while women aged 60 among ART's members hold around 23% less super than male counterparts.

ART said two reforms it had campaigned for, including superannuation on government funded parental leave and an increase to the Low-Income Super Tax Offset from July 2027, could improve retirement outcomes.

Fuchs said further action was needed, including extending super to people receiving Carer Payment and removing the 30-hour rule affecting some under 18 workers.

"The gender super gap exists because of decades of structural inequality," she said.

"Closing it means fixing the system, while giving women the tools to take control of their super."

Separate data from Aware Super also shows the gender super gap widening as members move through their working lives.

Women aged 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 recorded slightly higher median super balances than men, but the pattern reversed from age 35 as the effects of pay differences, carer breaks and caring responsibilities began to emerge.

The gap was largest among Aware Super member aged 45 to 59, with women holding a median balance of $181,935, compared with $240,060 for men, a difference of more than $58,000.

Aware Super chief executive Deanne Stewart said the data showed the gender pay gap could ultimately become a retirement gap.

"The gender pay gap doesn't disappear at retirement. It can follow women through lower super balances and reduced financial security," Stewart said.

Stewart said recent reforms, including superannuation on government funded Paid Parental Leave and Payday Super, could help address missed or delayed contributions.

"The Aware Super data shows why Equal Pay Day matters beyond take-home pay," she said.

"Lower earnings, unpaid caring responsibilities and time out of the workforce can compound over decades and leave women with less super when they need it most."