Female employment rate hits all-time high in Australia
- Josephine Tan
- Topics: Australia, DE&I, Home Page - News, Mobility, News, Recruitment
A recent analysis of workforce data has shed light on the progress made by the Australian government in facilitating greater full-time employment opportunities for Australian women. The findings, based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), revealed significant advancements in gender equality and job opportunities, leading to a substantial increase in women realising their full earning potential.
Since May 2022, there has been a surge in women’s total employment, with numbers increasing by 193,400. Additionally, 163,900 more women have entered the labour force over the same period, demonstrating an upward trend in women’s workforce participation.
Of particular significance is the upward trajectory of women transitioning from part-time to full-time employment. While part-time work for women has experienced an increase of 4,300 since May 2022, the number of full-time jobs for women has seen an increase of 189,100. As a result, the country now boasts the highest recorded number of women engaged in full-time work, with female full-time employment currently standing at 3,826,900.
Furthermore, women have played a leading role in driving the growth of full-time job opportunities, accounting for around two-thirds (66.7%) of the increase since May 2022.
READ MORE: Australia strengthens employment sector for PWDs
The Australian government’s holistic approach to gender equality and women’s workforce participation encompasses various initiatives. These include legislative reforms that prioritise gender pay equity within the Fair Work Commission’s decision-making process, advocating for minimum wage increases, supporting aged care employees with pay rises, reforming the bargaining system to facilitate negotiations in industries like childcare, and bolstering workplace rights through flexibility measures and paid family and domestic violence leave.
Katy Gallagher, Finance Minister and Minister for Women, said, “Supporting women to work in decent jobs is the key to women’s economic equality—and women’s equality isn’t just a nice to have, it’s an economic and social imperative.”
