In the Construction industry, men have median hourly earnings of $30.00, and women have median hourly earnings of $28.82. The gender pay gap within this industry is 3.9 percent.
Industry
Industry
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | Manufacturing | Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services | Construction | Wholesale Trade | Retail Trade and Accommodation | Transport, Postal and Warehousing | Information, Media and Telecommunications | Financial and Insurance Services | Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services | Professional and Administrative Services | Public Administration and Safety | Education and Training | Health | Art, Recreation and Other Services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 27.00 | 30.85 | 35.80 | 30.00 | 32.10 | 24.00 | 28.77 | 38.36 | 51.14 | 31.84 | 38.36 | 37.95 | 36.44 | 33.40 | 30.00 |
| Women | 25.00 | 26.00 | 32.60 | 28.82 | 28.00 | 22.50 | 27.00 | 36.20 | 38.36 | 30.50 | 32.93 | 35.90 | 29.83 | 29.81 | 28.21 |
| Industry GPG | 0.074 | 0.157 | 0.089 | 0.039 | 0.128 | 0.063 | 0.062 | 0.056 | 0.250 | 0.042 | 0.142 | 0.054 | 0.181 | 0.107 | 0.060 |
Women’s work tends to be concentrated in certain industries. Nearly 60% of all working women are in four top industries: Healthcare and Social Services; Retail Trade and Accommodation; Education and Training; and Professional, Scientific, Technical, Administrative and Support Services. Women also make up most of the workers in industries such as Public Administration and Safety, and Financial Services.
Men’s work is less concentrated, with around half of men working the four main industries of Construction; Professional, Scientific, Technical, Administrative and Support Services; Manufacturing; and Retail Trade and Accommodation.
The gender pay gaps within industries aren’t necessarily smaller when most of the workers in that industry are women. In fact, the majority of these industries have a gender pay gap greater than the national GPG (currently 9.2%).
Women working in most higher-paying industries have a lower (or even negative) gender pay gap compared with all men – but it is in these same higher-paid sectors where women are experiencing some of the highest gender pay gaps within the industry itself, for example in Financial Services where the gap is 25 percent.
Studies of male-dominated industries (industries where women make up 25 percent or less of the workforce) show that these industries are generally higher-paid than female-dominated ones. Women working in these industries face additional challenges such as higher levels of stress, pervasive stereotypes and societal expectations. Women lack mentoring and career development opportunities in some of these industries, and may experience higher levels of sexual harassment.
You can read some discussion of pay gaps by industry here.