Gendered universities and the wage gap: Case study of a pay equity audit in an Australian university

Studies worldwide have found that women's pay lags behind men's in academia. This article describes pay equity policies in Australia and overseas and the use of a pay equity audit as a strategic tool to reduce gender inequities at The University of Western Australia (UWA). As a research-intensive university, UWA resembles similar universities globally and, like them, is vertically segregated with power and advantage in the hands of males. Based on the average annual salaries in 2008, UWA's pay equity audit found a gender pay gap of 15% for academics and 12% for professionals. Discretionary allowances revealed additional pay differences with academic men, on average, receiving $8,744 more than academic women and professional men receiving $1,987 more than professional women. This article concludes with the micropolitics of how key players reacted to these findings and how the university may act to reduce gender differences in allowances.