Yesterday was Equal Pay Day, a symbolic day that marked the additional time from the end of the financial year that women had to work to earn the same as men.

Using Average Weekly Earnings data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) calculates the national gender pay gap to be 15.3%, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points over the previous 12-month period.

On average, men working full-time earned $251.20 per week more than women.

WGEA Director, Libby Lyons, says the gender pay gap is a measure of lost potential and shows that women still face barriers to accessing senior and high-paying roles.

She says there is still much that needs to be done to stamp out bias and outdated stereotypes.

Equal Pay Day gives Australians the chance to review some of the difficulties women face in the workplace and start a conversation about what can be done to address these issues.

Every year Flinders University analyses its pay data and reports this to the Flinders Equal Opportunity and Diversity Committee, along with recommendations to improve pay equality.

Over the years the level-by-level pay gaps between men and women of the University has decreased, however Flinders is committed to making these gaps even smaller until there is complete and genuine pay equality across the genders.

With this in mind, the University is committed to increasing the number of women in senior positions and is currently in the process of developing a Gender Strategy and Action Plan.

More information on Equal Pay Day can be found on the Workplace Gender Equality Agency website.