Workplace gender equality

In Australia, progress continues on improving gender equality in workplaces. The gender pay gap decreased from 18.6% a decade ago to 11.9% in 2024¹. Women’s workforce participation reached an all-time high of 63.5% in January 2025, compared to 58.6% 10 years ago². The proportion of employers offering paid parental leave reached 68% in 2023–24, up from 48% in 2015–16³.

However, there is more to do. For example, women’s average weekly full-time earnings across all industries and occupations ($1,825.50) is still $244.30 less than men’s ($2,069.80)⁴.The share of primary carer parental leave taken by men remains disproportionately low at 17%⁵.

Narrowing the gender pay gap requires collective effort from all levels of government, business, and the community. The Office for Women works in partnership with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency) to further drive this change. WGEA is a statutory Government agency charged with promoting and improving gender equality in Australian workplaces.

Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012

In 2021, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet led a targeted Review of the WGE Act. The Review considered the current legislation and gender equality indicators, along with ongoing employer reporting obligations. The Review was released in March 2022.

The Review Report made ten recommendations to accelerate progress on gender equality in workplaces and streamline reporting for employers. The final report is available at WGEA Review Report.

In August 2022, the Government agreed to implement all ten of the Review’s recommendations.

Implementation of Review Recommendations

As at March 2025, 7 of the Review’s 10 recommendations have been wholly or partly implemented through legislative and non-legislative changes. This includes:

• Recommendation 1.2: Improve the sharing of gender data among WGEA, other departments and agencies by establishing a Gender Data Steering Group under the Deputy Secretary Data Group.
• Recommendation 2: Publish employer gender pay gaps to accelerate action to close them.
• Recommendation 3.1b: Strengthen the existing minimum standards to require relevant employers with 500 or more employees to have policies or strategies that cover all six gender equality indicators.
• Recommendation 3.1c: Rename the minimum standards the ‘gender equality standards.’
• Recommendation 3.2: Strengthen the accountability of relevant employers to take action to improve gender equality in workplaces.
• Recommendation 4: Reduce the regulatory burden on employers.
• Recommendation 5: Support Respect@Work implementation to prevent and address workplace sex-based harassment and discrimination.
• Recommendation 7.1: Refine the gender equality indicators.
• Recommendation 9.2: Amend the Workplace Gender Equality Act (WGE Act) to change the title of the ‘Director of WGEA’ to Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Act 2023, received Royal Assent on 11 April 2023, together with the Workplace Gender Equality (Matters in relation to Gender Equality Indicators) Instrument 2023, and the Workplace Gender Equality (Gender Equality Standards) Instrument 2023. These legislative changes implemented 6 of the above recommendations.

The Anti‑Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 gave rise to an amendment to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. As a result, Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees are required to report to WGEA and allow WGEA to collect data on sex-based harassment and discrimination. The first Commonwealth Public Sector Report Card was published in June 2024.

The Office for Women and WGEA continue to progress work on the remaining Review recommendations, including through the introduction of the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Bill 2024 to parliament on 20 November 2024. Many of these recommendations require considered and careful implementation planning. This has included further targeted consultation and research to ensure appropriateness and effectiveness.

References

1. ABS (November 2024), ‘Table 2. Average weekly earnings, Australia (dollars) - seasonally adjusted [data set], Average weekly earnings, Australia, ABS website, accessed 13 March 2025.Return to footnote 1 ↩
2. ABS (January 2025), Labour force, Australia, ABS website, accessed 20 February 2025.Return to footnote 2 ↩
3. WGEA, Australia’s gender equality scorecard 2023–24; WGEA (2016), Australia’s gender equality scorecard 2015–16, WGEA website, accessed 21 February 2025.Return to footnote 3 ↩
4. ABS (November 2024), ‘Average weekly earnings, trend’ [data set], Average weekly earnings, Australia, ABS website, accessed 13 March 2025.Return to footnote 4 ↩
5. Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) (2024), Australia’s gender equality scorecard 2023–24, WGEA website, accessed 14 January 2025.Return to footnote 5 ↩