Big swinging dealers challenge top-end male medicos as new figures show big gender pay gap at top

Male stockbrokers and other financial market dealers are challenging top-end medical specialists as Australia’s highest income earners as new data confirms big gender pay gaps at the top.

Figures released by the Australian Taxation Office show male financial dealers enjoyed average incomes of almost $408,000 in the 2021-22 financial year, only behind male surgeons cutting an average $506,062 and anaesthetists pulling $478,995..

These money men earned just over double their female dealing rivals and were well ahead of female chart-topping anaesthetists and surgeons, who drew relatively modest average incomes of $346,253 and $285,980, respectively.

Female anaesthetists reported 38 per cent income less than their male colleagues, a dream world for equality when compared with the 77 per cent gap in surgery and more than 60 per cent higher pay for men practising internal medical.

Male psychiatrists reported average earnings of $314,189, just over one-third more than women.

The chaps continued to dominate in their traditional playground of law, with male barristers reporting an average income of $225,290 — almost 130 per cent more than their learned female friends.

This male pay ascendancy moderated to 61 per cent among the judges, magistrates and tribunal lawyers — where men reported an average income of $258,234 and women $160,515. Male solicitors reported an average of $173,814, 28 per cent more than women.

Engineering is holding its own as both a big payer and for having relatively low gaps in pay for high-end jobs, with mining engineers coming in at ninth for men with an average pay of $221,710 and female mining engineers reporting an average income of $166,637.

Female engineering managers reported pay of $164,277 — a relatively enlightened $18,220 short of the reported male pay.

These figures are not based on hourly pay packets or other incentives but are averages of work income reported to the tax office in returns filed since June 30, 2022.

The Nightly has compared the returns of men and women to extract the differences in average pay.

They show lower income for women across the professions, crafts and services — even those where women make up the majority of workers.

Male midwives averaged income of $92,000 a year — $15,143, or 20 per cent, more than their female colleagues.

Male registered nurses enjoyed a similar ascendancy with their average income of $14,350 more than the $73,823 reported by women.

That gap shrunk a bit at the nursing supervisor or educator level, with women reporting an average pay of $92,443 and men disclosing $104,951 income of pay to the tax office.

The male-female gap among secondary school teachers and principals was around 8.5 per cent and 10 per cent among prison officers.

The gaps are most pronounced in the higher-end professions, with female dentists, veterinarians and doctors earning at least one-third less than their male counterparts.