The report card presents both updated and new data points depending on data availability and collection. This may include data published in 2025 that pertains to earlier time periods. As such, this is a point in time snapshot and not intended as a strict year on year comparison.
New demographic data on women in Australia will be collected in the 2026 Census. For current demographic data, please refer to the 2025 Report Card.
Australian women are working more than ever, with workforce participation reaching a record yearly average of 63.1% in 2025. More women are stepping into leadership roles, and access to education and healthcare is improving. But there are areas where progress is too slow.
Australian women still shoulder most unpaid care, face high rates of intimate partner violence, and continue to earn less than men.
While we have made significant progress, there is more work to do.
Australia is ranked 13th for gender equality internationally – its highest score ever.Note 1
Attitudes and norms
9 in 10 Australians say gender equality is important.Note 2
6 in 10 Australians believe we are close to or have already achieved equality.Note 3
Between 60% and 63% of boys and girls believe that most people in Australia expect teenage boys to be manly, confident, and strong at all times.Note 4
Almost 1 in 5 young adults think it’s reasonable to expect to track a romantic partner whenever they want.Note 5
Gender-based violence
The intimate partner homicide rate fell by 35.6% between 2023-24 and 2024-25.
However, 28 women were killed by a current or former intimate partner in 2025,Note 6 and 1 in 4 women (23%) have experienced intimate partner violence since age 15.Note 7
First Nations women experience higher rates of violence, with nearly 1 in 3 female victims of intimate partner homicide in 2025 identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.Note 8
1 in 5 women (22%) have experienced sexual violence,Note 9 and 49% of LGBTQIA+ people have experienced sexual assault (mostly perpetrated by cisgender men).Note 10
55% of people with disability have experienced physical or sexual abuse since age 15.Note 11
Women with disability were more likely than women without disability to have experienced emotional abuse by a partner (7.0% versus 4.6%).Note 12
More Australians understand the signs of family violence and are seeking the help they need. 1800RESPECT received over 294,000 contacts in 2023-24, and the Men’s Referral Service received over 7,000 helpline calls in 2022-23.Note 13
Unpaid and paid care
Dads are spending more time with their children. 20% of primary carer parental leave recipients in medium and large private sector employers,Note 14 and 33% of new government funded Paid Parental Leave recipients were men in 2024-25.Note 15
Use of paid care for children under 5 continues to rise, with 56% of families relying on paid care in 2023.
While nearly 1 in 3 families with children under 5 rely on grandparent care.Note 16
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are driving growth in the number of people employed in high skilled professional roles including health, education and welfare, policy, advertising, and environmental science.Note 17
Following wage increases, more men have joined the aged and disabled care workforce in the last year compared to women (growth rate of 6.2% versus 2.1%).Note 18
Economic equality and security
The national gender pay gap is continuing to narrow, currently sitting at 11.5%.Note 19 The gap is 21.1% for total remuneration within medium and large employers.Note 20
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have the highest gender pay gap, earning 35.3% less than all Australian men, but the gap is decreasing.Note 21
4 in 5 Australians work in either female or male dominated occupations – a key contributor to skills shortages and the gender pay gap.Note 22
Women made up approximately 62% of Fee Free TAFE enrolments from January 2023 to September 2025,Note 23 and 46% of all VET enrolments from January 2023 to December 2024.Note 24
55% of social housing program occupants are women.Note 25
Single‑women households make up around 52% of those eligible for the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance.Note 26
Health
Early access to antenatal care is rising, with 69.3% of First Nations women, and 77.4% of non-Indigenous women receiving care in the first trimester.Note 27
For the first time since records began in 1982, no cervical cancer cases were diagnosed in women under 25 years of age.Note 28
Mortality due to breast cancer declined by almost 30% between 2000 and 2024.Note 29
More than 303,000 women have accessed new, cheaper contraceptives on the PBS in the last year.Note 30
Women spent around $373 million more than men on GP services in 2024-25.Note 31
Over 71,000 women accessed a menopause health assessment since 1 July 2025 when they first became covered by Medicare.Note 32
Women accessed 177 million scripts on the PBS in 2024-25, compared to 150 million for men.Note 33
Health leadership, representation and decision-making
33 women represented Australia at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic games, making up 62.3% of the team - the most women Australia has ever had compete at an Olympics.Note 34
At the opening of the 48th parliament in 2025, 49.6% of federal parliamentarians were women, up from 44.5% at the opening of the 47th parliament.Note 35
Australia scored 83 out of 100 on the new Gender Equality @ Work Index, with top performing dimensions including security, pay and participation.Note 36
Women account for 54.3% of people on Australian Government boards.Note 37
In medium and large private sector employers, the share of women on boards and governing bodies has slightly shifted over the last 4 years, 31% in 2020-21 to 33% in 2024-25.Note 38
2026 Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg is the first astronaut to qualify under the Australian flag.Note 39