More women in leadership, a narrowing pay gap and superannuation added to paid parental leave are among the gender equality wins notched by Australia in 2025.
Yet advocates say momentum needs to build in 2026 towards achieving true equality, with women still over-represented in part-time, low paid work, taking on the majority of unpaid tasks and domestic violence rates remaining stubbornly high.
In January, Anthony Albanese became the the first prime minister to have an equal number of women and men in his cabinet.
After the election in May, a record number of women entered federal parliament, the lions share within Labor ranks.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley became the first female federal Liberal leader but the overall number of women in the party has not increased significantly in a decade.
In the federal parliament, Labor women outnumber coalition women more than two-to-one.
But three Liberal women took leadership of the party in opposition: in NSW, South Australia and Victoria.
A Per Capita report confirmed the link between more women in parliament and greater attention to child care, parental leave, family violence and pay equity reforms.
“The gender equity balance within the current federal government is something to celebrate,” UN Women chief executive Simone Clarke told AAP.
“Women bring a different mindset to decision making and we are also seeing more awareness around gender equality with people leaning in to conversations about it.”
From July 2025, new mums and dads received a superannuation boost on their government-funded paid parental leave, with about 180,000 families benefiting from the change.
The childcare activity test was replaced with a three-day guarantee, giving families 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight regardless of parents’ level of work.
This comes into effect in 2026, with Australian Childcare Alliance president Paul Mondo saying it will benefit the children and families who need the most support.
Australia also climbed from 24th to 13th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, the nation’s best ranking since the report launched in 2006.
Improvements in political, economic and labour-force participation contributed to Australia’s standing compared to the rest of the world.
Data analysis by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency found the national gender pay gap narrowed to 21.1 per cent, down from 21.8 per cent in 2024.
This means that for every $1 men earn, women on average earn 78.9 cents, adding up to a difference of $28,356 in a year.
“Reductions to the pay gap and modest improvements towards gender-balance in leadership roles are underpinned by more employers having policies and taking action that can break down gender norms,” the agency’s chief executive Mary Wooldridge said.
But for CEO salaries, the gender pay gap at the top increased 1.2 percentage points to 26.2 per cent in the past 12 months.
Women chief executives earn $83,493 less on average than men in base salary, with the difference ballooning to $185,335 when superannuation, bonuses, overtime and additional payments are included.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said conversations about gender equality must include equal treatment of all genders, including trans and non-binary people.
“Gender equality is not just about equal pay or political representation – it’s about valuing care as a shared human responsibility, not a gendered one,” she said in her December lecture on gender equality at work.
“Around the world, we are seeing gender diversity being used as a weapon for ideological and political purposes.
“This is particularly unjust when it targets a group that already faces higher rates of violence and makes up less than one per cent of the population.”
The winding back of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the United States and the impact on Australia should not be underestimated.
Women’s and racial equality advocate Juliana Nkrumah said unfortunately 2025 had not given her a lot of hope.
“This year has been a very difficult year for people around the world,” she said.
“There is a lot of information about gender equality and its importance, but it doesn’t mean we are getting outcomes.
“It’s great that information is in the public, but the real action hasn’t come through and that’s my hope for change in 2026.”
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