OECD Gender Wage Gap Analysis

Ananya George Martin

Introduction

A Data-Driven Story with Visual Insights
Author: Ananya George Martin
Data Source: OECD Data Explorer (2005–2023)

Why This Topic Matters

  • Wage gap = Difference in median earnings between men and women
  • Influenced by occupation, education, discrimination
  • OECD data offers 18+ years across 30+ countries

The average gender wage gap across OECD countries has shown a clear downward trend from nearly 19% in 2005 to approximately 13% in 2023, reflecting global progress in addressing gender inequality in earnings. However, despite this overall improvement, significant regional disparities persist. As of 2023, the Americas exhibit the highest average wage gap, while Europe generally demonstrates a lower gap, suggesting varying levels of policy effectiveness and cultural factors influencing wage equity across different parts of the world.

Australia’s Gender Wage Gap: Trend and Global Standing

Australia’s gender wage gap was higher than the OECD average until 2016 but has since declined, reflecting the impact of national reforms. However, in 2023, it still ranks among countries facing persistent challenges in achieving pay parity.

Evolution of Gender Wage Gap Distribution and Central Tendency(2015–2023)

This slide compares the distribution of gender wage gaps across OECD countries (left) with the median wage gap trend over time (right). While the boxplot reveals variability and outliers, the line plot shows a clear downward trend in the median gap, indicating gradual improvement. However, the wide spread in some years suggests ongoing disparities across countries.

Wage Gap vs Female Workforce Representation (2023)

This slide explores whether higher female participation in the workforce and leadership correlates with reduced wage gaps across countries. The scatter plot (left) shows a weak downward trend, suggesting that higher employment rates do not always guarantee lower wage gaps. On the right, a bar chart highlights countries with the highest and lowest shares of women in executive roles — illustrating how gender representation varies sharply across the globe, often independent of wage equality.

Gender Wage Gap: A Global Map (2023)

This interactive map visualizes the gender wage gap across OECD countries in 2023. Countries are shaded according to their reported wage gap, allowing for a quick geographical assessment of gender-based earning disparities. Hover over each country to see its specific wage gap percentage. Use the buttons below to highlight countries within specific wage gap quartiles.

“Global Extremes in Gender Wage Gap (2023)”

This slide highlights the top and bottom 10 countries by gender wage gap in 2023. While countries on the left have made significant strides toward pay equity, those on the right continue to struggle with large disparities, pointing to deeper structural or cultural challenges. The contrast emphasizes the uneven progress across regions.

Conclusion

  • Over the past two decades, the OECD gender wage gap has gradually decreased, signaling progress towards income equity—but disparities persist across regions.

  • Countries like Italy, Belgium, and New Zealand consistently show low wage gaps, whereas South Korea, Japan, and Israel report some of the highest.

  • Australia, while improving, still performs worse than the OECD average, highlighting the need for continued national efforts.

  • Interactive visualizations reveal key associations between female employment rates and wage gaps, suggesting deeper socio-economic linkages worth exploring further.

  • Despite progress, systemic inequalities remain entrenched, calling for stronger global policy interventions, corporate accountability, and societal change.

References

1. OECD. (2024). Gender wage gap (indicator). OECD Data Explorer. https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm
2. Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2017). The gender wage gap: Extent, trends, and explanations. Journal of Economic Literature, 55(3), 789–865. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20160995
3. Weichselbaumer, D., & Winter-Ebmer, R. (2005). A meta-analysis of the international gender wage gap. Journal of Economic Surveys, 19(3), 479–511. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0950-0804.2005.00256.x
4. World Economic Forum. (2023). Global gender gap report 2023. https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2023
5. R Core Team. (2023). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 4.3.1) [Computer software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.r-project.org/
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7. Sievert, C. (2020). Interactive web-based data visualization with R, plotly, and shiny. CRC Press. https://plotly-r.com
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