Key facts
- Women in Australia earn $0.79 for every $1 a man makes on average.
- Women are more likely to leave senior positions than men.
- 13.8% of women in management roles resigned in 2024-25, compared to 12% of men.
- Only 13.2% of organizations design management roles for part-time work.
- Women accounted for just one in five board chairs or chief executives of Australian companies.
- The WGEA noted growing resistance to gender equality initiatives.
Women in Australia are leaving senior positions at higher rates than men, contributing to a widening gender pay gap, according to research released Tuesday by the federal government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) and Curtin University. The analysis of data covering 5.4 million employees found that while full-time women were promoted more often than men in 2024-25, men were slightly more likely to reach management positions. Crucially, women who did attain management roles were more likely to resign than their male counterparts, with rates of 13.8% compared to 12%.
Christine Castley, WGEA's chief executive, stated that the persistent idea that management roles cannot be part-time, combined with uneven caring responsibilities, prevents women from staying in senior positions. The report also noted that most women still leave the workforce or work part-time after having children, citing analysis of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (Hilda) data. This under-representation is evident even in female-dominated sectors like health care and social assistance, where women constitute three-quarters of the workforce but hold only about half of CEO positions and one in five board chair or chief executive roles.
To address these issues, Castley suggested employers creatively reform management structures, such as allowing grandparents access to carer's leave or implementing co-CEO roles for job sharing. The report indicated that organizations offering flexible work strategies, including part-time management roles, saw higher promotion rates for female part-time non-managers and more women at all senior management levels.
Dr. Silvia Salazar, a co-author of the report, emphasized the role of shared care responsibilities, noting that women account for 80% of primary parental leave takers and are more likely to quit their jobs while on leave. She urged employers to support career progression for parents, even if they cannot dictate home-based care divisions.
The WGEA highlighted that despite recent improvements in workplace equality metrics, policies addressing gender inequality have faced increasing hostility. Castley expressed concern that the conversation around gender equity has regressed, with a narrative emerging that seems to be pulling back progress made over the last 40 years.