The chart below shows the percentage of difference in income between men and women from 1978 to 2008 Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant

The line graph illustrates the disparity in income between the two sexes from 1978 to 2008.
Overall, there was a downward trend in the salary earned by men and women in four countries examined; however, in the latter half of the period, Australia witnessed the most significant rise in the percentage gap. In addition, Japan consistently had the highest figures throughout the period.
There was a difference in wages between genders in Japan, with the shares accounting for approximately 50% in the first half of the period, after which it steadily decreased to 41% in 2008. Similar changes in pattern, but to a lesser extent, were seen in the values for the US, which declined from 33% to about 27% in the last year of the period.
From 1978 to 1998, the income gap in France remained fairly constant in comparison with the figures for the UK and Australia. However, until the year 2008, France experienced a marginal drop of about 18%. Conversely, the disparity in salary earned by the two sexes in Australia rose significantly from 17% in 1998 to 25% in 2008.