OECD Gender Wage Gap Analysis

Ananya George Martin S4109526

Introduction

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

  • What Does the “Wage Gap (%)” Mean?

  • OECD defines it as: Difference between median earnings of men and women as a percentage of male earnings”

  • A 10% wage gap means: “Women earn 90 cents for every $1 earned by men (median)”

  • 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 OECD gender wage gap declined from 19% in 2005 to around 13% in 2023, indicating steady global progress.

  • However, regional disparities persist — with higher gaps in the Americas and lower ones in Europe, reflecting differences in policy and culture.

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.

Australia’s Gender Wage Gap: Trend and Global Standing

Australia’s gender wage gap remained above the OECD average until 2016, but has steadily declined since then due to national reforms. However, as of 2023, Australia still faces ongoing challenges in fully closing the pay gap.

“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.

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.

Conclusion

  • Over the past two decades, the OECD gender wage gap has steadily declined—showing progress, yet regional differences remain.

  • Countries like Italy, Belgium, and New Zealand consistently report the lowest wage gaps.

  • South Korea, Japan, and Israel still face some of the highest disparities.

  • Australia has improved but continues to lag behind the OECD average, requiring further policy action.

  • Visual trends suggest a link between female employment rates and wage gaps—indicating deeper structural issues.

  • Despite progress, systemic inequality persists—calling for stronger global policies, corporate action, and social reform.

References