Workplace gender equality

Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality outlines the Australian Government's vision for gender equality, including in workplaces. Efforts to advance workplace gender equality are critical for achieving the Strategy’s ambitions which include closing the gender pay gap and balancing unpaid work. These align with priority areas under the Strategy, particularly economic equality and security and unpaid and paid care.

In Australia, progress continues on improving gender equality in workplaces. The gender pay gap has decreased from a high of 18.7% over a decade ago to the current record low of 11.5%¹. Women’s workforce participation reached an all-time high of 63.5% in July 2025, compared to 58.3% 10 years ago². The proportion of employers offering paid parental leave has also increased, reaching 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 ($1,864.10) is still $242.30 less than men’s ($2,106.40)⁴. The share of primary carer parental leave taken by men also remains disproportionately low at 17%⁵. Achieving the ambitions of the Strategy and advancing workplace gender equality requires collective effort from all levels of government, employers, and the community. The Office for Women works in partnership with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) 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 subject to further consultation.

Implementation of Review recommendations

Significant work has been undertaken to implement key recommendations under the Review. This includes comprehensive legislative and non-legislative reforms such as:

• Commonwealth public sector reporting
  • The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 commenced on 12 December 2022 and resulted in an amendment to the WGE Act. As a result, Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees are now required to annually report to WGEA against the Gender Equality Indicators (aligned with existing private sector reporting requirements). The 2023 Commonwealth Public Sector Gender Equality Scorecard was published in May 2025.
• Gender pay gap transparency
  • The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Act 2023, commenced on 11 April 2023 and amended the WGE Act. Together with amendments to associated instruments,  these reforms require private sector employers with 100 or more employees to report their gender pay gaps to WGEA to help accelerate employer action to close the gender pay gap. The 2023-24 Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report was published in March 2025.
• Sexual harassment and discrimination
  • The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Act 2023 amended the WGE Act. This amendment and changes to associated instruments, require private sector and Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees to report on policies, strategies and actions to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination (now specified as Gender Equality Indicator 6). This supports the implementation of related recommendations from the 2020 Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry.   
• Gender Equality Targets Scheme
  • The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Act 2025 commenced on 4 April 2025 and amended the WGE Act. This requires large employers with 500 or more employees to select, commit to achieve and report on gender equality targets in a three year cycle  The implementation of the targets scheme will support closing the gender pay gap by encouraging more gender equal practices and commitments within organisations. More information on the targets scheme can be found on WGEA’s website.
• Enhanced data sharing
  • The Gender Data Steering Group was established in October 2022 to maximise the impact of the government’s major data holdings as an evidence-base for gender equality policy. The Group works to improve the collection, management, access, sharing and use of gender disaggregated and intersectional data across government.

References

1. ABS (May 2025), ‘Table 2. Average weekly earnings, Australia (dollars) - seasonally adjusted’ [data set], Average weekly earnings, Australia, ABS website, accessed 25 August 2025. Return to footnote 1 ↩
2. ABS (July 2025), Labour force, Australia, ABS website, accessed 25 August 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 (May 2025), ‘Table 2. Average weekly earnings, Australia (dollars) - seasonally adjusted’ [data set], Average weekly earnings, Australia, ABS website, accessed 25 August 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 ↩