Why work still works differently for women

Australia has made real progress on women’s workforce participation, but too often the system still converts participation into unequal pay, unequal power, and unequal security. The country has proven it is serious about balance, but we have so much further to go.

The labour force participation rate reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (that is, the percentage of the working-age population, more than 15 years old, that is employed or seeking work) for women was 62.9 per cent in January 2026, compared with 70.5 per cent for men. That is a gap of 7.6 per cent.

A closer look at the data suggests the problem has shifted from ‘women aren’t participating in the formal workforce’ to ‘the workforce works differently for women’. The solution may require a rethink of not just participation goals and how they are measured, but the policies which define our ambition of an equal future.

Bulk of care

Research suggests part‑time work shapes promotion, bonuses, super accumulation and who is seen as leadership material, and it isn’t just a preference story.

Women are far more likely to participate in part‑time paid work than men. While part‑time jobs accounted for 30.9 per cent of all employment in January 2026, 43.2 per cent of women work part time versus 19.6 per cent of men. In January 2026, women worked an average of 27.6 hours per week, compared with 34.0 hours for men. Data show women carry the bulk of caring responsibilities, which often make full‑time work a challenge.

Caring responsibilities also impact the types of roles many women can take. Women perform more unpaid work and care than men in all groups, with the highest levels done by women in couple families with children under 15 (47 hours/week), those in the lowest income quintile (40 hours/week) and single mothers (40 hours/week). In the September quarter of 2024, the value assigned to time spent on unpaid care by women was $A1.39 for every dollar earned through paid employment.

While women’s workforce participation has risen, men have consistently contributed a greater number of hours to Australia’s total labour supply. Although the gender pay gap has narrowed in recent years, men still account for a larger share of overall labour income than women, attributable to both longer average working hours and higher hourly earnings among men.

Many women face compounding barriers. First Nations women, for instance, often face carer or cultural demands on top of structural exclusion.

Increasing the availability of affordable childcare, disability care and aged care, as well as access to adequate carer’s leave is a start. But without culturally safe, community‑designed capacity and reforms in the workforce’s understanding of these responsibilities, those entitlements won’t translate into genuine choice or security.

The different patterns of workforce participation between men and women contribute to the gender pay gap. The national gender pay gap was 11.5 per cent in November 2025, with men working full time earning on average $A2147.80 per week versus $A1900.60 for women, based on ABS data.

Pay gaps are partly about getting different pay for doing the same job, but they are also shaped by seniority, hours worked, bonuses, promotion pathways and sponsorship into leadership. That’s why representation in decision‑making roles matters. Australia’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s leadership statistics show women are underrepresented in roles where decisions are made, making up just 22 per cent of CEOs, 33 per cent of board members and 21 per cent of board chairs.

Rebalance

Security is where these gaps have the most impact: employment, stability of residence, career continuity and superannuation balances. When caring falls unevenly, it limits opportunities and lowers quality of life, with consequences that compound throughout life.

Women are less likely to save successfully for a home deposit, and those who do typically require more time than men. Consequently, women are less likely to own homes that support them in retirement.

Older women repaying mortgages experience higher levels of stress relative to men, adversely impacting their health and wellbeing and placing additional pressure on health systems.

Single mothers are increasingly represented among families, yet they encounter heightened barriers to accessing housing. Employment interruptions related to childbearing and family responsibilities mean women's median superannuation balances at retirement are around 25 per cent lower than those of men, reducing their capacity to pay off mortgages.

Nobody is saying these are simple things to fix. And the responsibility is shared across public and private spheres.

Reforms that aim to properly fund and staff early childhood education, require boards to sign off on pay-gap action plans, and expand ‘use it or lose it’ parental leave, while protecting superannuation so caregiving and long-term financial security are more equally shared, are all welcome and important steps. The question is whether participation is enough.

Really balancing the scales will require more work — the kind that doesn’t just applaud participation, but pursues change that will see hours, earnings, authority and security that flow from work shared more evenly.

Mahjabeen Zaman is Head of FX Research at ANZ Institutional