Gender equality at work has barely improved over the past ten years, with paid work opportunities held back by women doing the bulk of unpaid work in the home, new research shows.
Stubborn gaps in pay and career progression, alongside deep division between the types of jobs women and men do, are holding back business and the economy, despite decades of efforts by governments, employers and unions.
To help understand and address these gender gaps, the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work has developed a unique tool to measure and track equality at work.
The first Gender Equality @ Work Index provides a comprehensive, national snapshot of gender equality at work over ten years.
Our research shows many of the unequal features of the Australian labour market, such as the concentration of men and women in different industries
and occupations, have barely shifted in three decades.
Improvement, but at a glacial pace
Measured against seven dimensions to produce a score out of 100, the index shows overall gender equality improved by just three points between 2014 and 2024, from 80 to 83. This is still 17 points from equality.
The seven dimensions go beyond the regular measures of participation and pay to also include:
- hours (in paid and unpaid work)
- security (job stability and income stability)
- stratification (participation in management and leadership roles)
- segmentation (job type across industries and occupations)
- safety.
The index shows where Australia is doing well, and where further investment and innovation will deliver the biggest boost to productivity and performance.
The drivers of gender equality at work are complex. The index provides a rigorous, evidence-based tool that clarifies, measures and tracks the drivers of unequal outcomes in work.
More women move into senior roles
Australian women have higher rates of bachelor-level education than men but do not fare as well as men in paid work. Women participate at lower rates, and work fewer hours, at lower levels, in less secure jobs and industries, for lower pay and with poorer levels of safety than men.
The first index report reveals women are closest to parity with men in the dimensions of job security (94), participation (92) and pay (92).
The biggest improvement between 2014 and 2024 has been in labour market stratification, rising from an equality score of 77 to 86. This is in part due to women’s increasing employment in senior roles that reflect their education and experience.
The “hours” measure has a score of only 76 because women still do most of the unpaid work at home, limiting their paid work opportunities.
Women also take more parental leave than men, which can put a brake on career progression and limit economic security in older age. The unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work is a major cause of gender inequality in the workplace.