Towards 2025 An Australian Government strategy to boost women’s workforce participation

Women’s workforce participation — an economic priority

Increasing women’s workforce participation leads to better living standards for individuals and families, improves the bottom line of businesses and is a significant driver of national economic growth.i This is why, in 2014 under Australia’s presidency, G20 leaders committed to reduce the gender participation gap between men and women (aged 15–64) by 25 per cent by 2025 in their respective countries (the Brisbane goal). For Australia, this means decreasing the gap by three percentage points from 12.1 per cent (the 2012 starting point) to 9.1 per cent by 2025.

The strategy

The Strategy lays out the Australian Government’s roadmap to meet its target of reducing the gap in participation rates between women and men (aged 15–64) by 25 per cent by 2025.

Meeting this target will mean that, on top of current projections, an additional 200,000 Australian women will need to enter the workforce.

The Government has identified five areas which require continued action over the next decade:

• Ensuring affordable, accessible and flexible child care,
•  Improving workplace diversity and flexibility,
• Supporting women to innovate, succeed as entrepreneurs and thrive in jobs of the future
• Strengthening women’s economic security, and
• Enhancing financial incentives to work.