This briefing note presents data on the gendered composition of the employment recovery since May.

It shows women’s jobs returned on a more part-time and casualised basis than for men, and that the influx of women’s lower-earning jobs widened the gender pay gap between May and November 2020.

While women were more likely to lose these same jobs early in the COVID pandemic (and so the return of these jobs is predictable), these statistics demonstrate how the gender pay gap worsens with increases in part-time and casual jobs.

Finally, the paper describes three major existing and proposed government policies that are likely to widen pay inequality in 2021.