The ACTU on Wednesday said that figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirm women are faring worse than men in a variety of key measures of equality.
The figures show women earn on average about $196 per week less than their male counterparts, and are also twice as likely to be underemployed than men, the ACTU said.
Women are also underrepresented in senior positions in the workforce but are over-represented in industries dominated by casual, part-time and low-paid employment.
The ACTU is calling for mandatory annual reporting of gender pay data by all employers, including the private sector and small business.
ACTU president Sharan Burrow said the conditions for women had worsened under the former Howard government and its Work Choices industrial relations (IR) regime.
"For the first time in decades, the pay equity gap grew wider after many women were forced onto individual contracts that stripped their pay to the barest levels, in many cases illegally underpaying them and removing job security," Burrow said.
"It is essential that we see new IR laws introduced into parliament that scrap the rest of Work Choices and ensure all workers, especially women, get back their rights at work."
