HI6008 Business Research: Gender Wage Gap & Performance in Australia

This report investigates the gender wage gap within Australia's financial service industry, examining its impact on business performance and the broader Australian society. It begins by introducing the concept of the gender gap in the workplace, highlighting disparities in job opportunities and salaries. The project aims to understand the reasons behind the wage gap, referencing existing literature and relevant surveys. The scope of the project emphasizes the prevalence of the issue in Australia, particularly within the financial sector. The literature review explores the differences in pay and opportunities, noting the slow progress in achieving gender parity. It also addresses the gaps in existing research, acknowledging the potential for companies to conceal wage details. Key research questions focus on the extent of the gender wage gap in the Australian financial industry, the thought processes governing lower pay for women, and the likely duration of the gap. The research methodology employs a descriptive approach with a deductive approach, utilizing quota sampling within the Australian financial sector. Primary data collection involves questionnaires and interviews with managers and employees. The report also addresses the reliability and validity of data, as well as the limitations of both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH ON GENDER WAGE GAP AND BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
Business Research on Gender Wage Gap and Business Performance
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

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Executive Summary:
The objective of the project is to study the existent literature which is related to the gender gap
and the wage gap in the workplace with special reference to the Finance service industry of
Australia. The impact of gender gap in the in the overall Australian society is also discussed. The
report aims to understand the reasons behind the gender wage gap in the financial sector in the
country Australia. The reasons for the difference in wages are also analysed with regard to the
survey concerned.

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1. Introduction:
The gender gap at the place of work is “the disproportionate difference or disparity
between the two genders.” It is actually stated that conventionally the disparities between boys
and girls are observable in specific spheres of study. There is the need for encouragement of
children in all the spheres. In the places of work, the gender gaps refer to the opportunities for
the job as well as the differences in salary. According to statistics it is seen that men earn more
for the same work in comparison to women. It is also seen that the men have been on the top of
their professions much longer than women maybe because of the fact that men have been
provided with opportunities to excel much more in comparison to women (Blau and Kahn 2017).
2. Project Objective:
The objective of the project is to study the existent literature which is related to the
gender gap and the wage gap in the workplace with special reference to the Finance service
industry of Australia. The impact of gender gap in the in the overall Australian society is also
discussed.
3. Project Scope:
The scope of the project is huge. This is because gender wage gap is a severe issue which
is also very much prevalent in Australia. This needs to be reduced and therefore the situations

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also need to be justified. There is a special focus which is to be given to the financial service
industry. This is because of the fact that the effect of the wage gap in most significant in this
sector. It is expected that the gender gap can be identified after a study of the relevant literature
and recommendations can also be provided in order to improve the condition of the Australian
financial industry.
4. Literature review:
Majorly the connotation of gender gap is used to refer to the difference in pay as well as
the opportunities for the men and women. There have been noticed differences in the wages of
the men and women at their places of work. This is as a result of the pre-conceived notions of
gender disparity in the society. This is an issue which has been experienced even by the
Australian society which is most in case of the workplace as well as in educational backdrops. It
has also been noticed that men have less access to family-friendly policies such as parental leave
or flexible working arrangements than women. It is also important to understand the financial
aspects that are caused due to high level of gender pay gap in the Australian financial service
sector.” It has been seen that very slow progress is being made with respect to the gender parity
in the incomes all across of the globe. Failure to pay women equally for an equal amount of hard
work puts a limit on their ability to attain financial balance and stability. The affects of payment
at the time of work, impacts the gender wage gaps as well.

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There are the earnings of both male and female full time earnings which tend to increase
with age, though earning increase more slowly after the specific middle age groups. There are
certain aspects of payment which are to be considered for both men and women. It is seen that
education can improve the earnings of women of all races and ethnicities and also as well as
gender. There are women who are much more than men. The gender pay gap persists across all
the levels of education which is worse in case of people of certain ethnicities. There have gains
which have been made by women in the workforce but the gap of pay also exists which is due to
the ability to chip away the actual gap of pay.
The gender wage gap has also been seen to vary depending upon the nature of a job
which a woman holds. The sector also continues to be dominated by the men and there is also the
reason that they have been in a particular job for a longer frame of time. It has been seen that
around 63% of the time men are offered larger salaries than those of women due to the higher
amount of trust on the men. There is also a certain level of fairness and trust which is associated
with the payment of the men more in comparison to the women along with being linked to the
effects on the economy (Blau 2016).
4.1 Gaps in Literature:
This particular research is concerned with understanding the level of gap in the wages of
both the genders in the Australian financial sector. It is understood that there are different gaps in

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the literature because companies are likely to hide the details of the wages which they pay to
their employees as they would want to retain a positive brand image and picture of themselves.
5. Research Questions:
“What is the extent of gender wage gap in the Australian financial industry?” This is the
primary research question to be identified.
The research question is adopted on the basis of the fact that there has been the
prevalence of the differences in the wages of both the males and females in different aspects of
work for ages. Women despite working equally or in certain cases even more than the men, it
becomes necessary for the organisations to ensure that they are being paid for the efforts which
they put for their organisation. In is because of which the research question is chosen.
The secondary questions in relation to the primary questions are:
What is the thought process governing the less amount of pay for the women?
How long is the gender wage gap likely to prevail in the given scenario?

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6. Research Methodology:
6.1 Research Design:
A research design is a proper and systematic approach which is utilized by a researcher in
order to conduct a particular type of survey. It is basically concerned with the overall
synchronization of the components selected and the data which results in suitable and
noteworthy outcomes. It is desirable that the research design follows a strategic pattern or
method based on the type of research which has been chosen. Exploratory research aims at
finding out the problem or aim by a manner of questioning situations. Descriptive helps in the in-
depth research. Explanatory research helps in the explanation of the specific subject manner.
Evaluation research helps in the measurement of effectiveness of a program. The descriptive
method of research is basically concerned with the in depth research for perfect answering of the
research questions.
In this study the descriptive approach of research needs to be chosen.
6.2 Research Type:
Descriptive research is aimed at considering the current issues or problems by certain
methods including data collection which enables them to explain the situation in a much more
complete manner than what is possible without employing such a method. Descriptive studies
help in the explanation of different types of phenomenon. This method helps in handling non-

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quantified topics issues and observes incidents in a natural way. This method has been employed
in this research.
6.3 Research Approach:
A deductive approach has been utilized in this particular study. There are three main
types of research approaches which are abductive, inductive and deductive.
6.4 Sample Techniques:
In this specific research on the gender wage gap in the Australian context the main
method which is to be employed is that of quota sampling. The companies in the financial sector
of Australia are chosen as the target population for the given survey. “Types of sampling
comprise of non-probability sampling, simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified
sampling, cluster sampling, quota sampling and mini-max sampling among other types.”
6.5 Sample Size:
The sample size is based on the organisations, specifically in the financial sector in
Australia where there is a major wage gap among the men and the women. This is expected to
help in the research which helps in the overall development of the research understanding and
bring pointers towards the improvement of payment and closing of the age gap.
The sample population in the survey is basically the part or a specific proportion which is
selected to be studied. This is basically a proportion of about 10% of the total study population.

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It needs to be ensured however that the sample population is a proper representative of the total
population. The main population in this case is the financial sector in the country of Australia. A
10%
6.6 Primary Data Collection:
It is possible to collect primary data from the respondents by means of a questionnaire.
Interviews can also be conducted by means of arranging for the managers to be interviewed. In
this research the managers of the companies which engage in business outsourcing are to be
selected. The company managers and people in authoritative positions are to be interviewed in
order to receive necessary information for the research. The men and women who work in the
financial sectors of Australia are also interviewed in this particular study (Whitehead and
Whitehead 2016).
6.7 Reliability and Validity of Data:
An important criteria of a research study is in the maintenance of the overall authenticity
of the data which are being collected and also to ensure that the data which are being collected is
genuine. Tests for validity can be conducted in order to ensure that the authenticity of the data
has been ensured and the results which are being produced related to the research can be relied
on. The data which are to be collected from the financial organisations in Australia need to be
proper and genuine. These data help in drawing conclusions on the disparity of the gap of wages

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for the men and women and therefore it is necessary to ensure that the company maangers as
well as different stakeholders of the organisation provide valid and reliable data with suitable
facts and figures showing the percentage gap the amount of increase or decrease and also the
accurate salary figures for the past two to three decades.
6.8 Qualitative Data:
In order to understand the issues and instances of gender wage gap in the companies in
the backdrop of the financial sector of Australia the qualitative method of collection of data can
be employed for the same. This helps in the overall analysis of the different types of reactions
and also the responses that have been obtained in connection to the survey. The answers or
responses of the mangers of organisations and other stakeholders are analysed in this specific
scenario (Lewis 2015).
7. Research Limitations:
There are certain limitations of both quantitative and qualitative research. There can be
ambiguity in the nature of the responses as well as the problems which are highlighted by the
managers. In order to maintain a certain amount of privacy of the company, it is possible for the
managers of the chosen organisations to give false and invalid information or reasons which is
unacceptable. The mindsets of the respondents also cannot be judged. There also is the chance of

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managers not disclosing the actual reason for gender wage gap in order to ensure the branding of
the company. This is also a proper of the company.
8. Time Schedule:
9. Conclusion:
Gender wage gap is one of most significant issues in the country of Australia. The report
helps in getting the confirmation that there is a significant difference in the minimum wages
which are paid to both the men and women in the same job profile. The aim of gender equality in

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the workplace is to achieve broadly equal outcomes for both men and women. It is desirable that
the workplaces provide equal pay for work which is either of equal or comparable value. There
also needs to be the removal of barriers to the complete participation of women in the workforce.
There needs to be a proper access to all the occupations and industries including roles of
leadership irrespective of the gender and elimination of discrimination on the basis of gender and
this is specifically in connection to the family and responsibilities regarding that of care.
The achievement of gender equality is important for the places of work because of the
reason that it is fair and the correct thing to do and it also connected to the overall economic
performance of a country as a whole.