Madeline Hislop, June 7, 2024

Despite the large strides we’ve made in gender equality in the workplace over the past decade, men continue to wield the most power in workplaces across the country. 

According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, men are more likely to hold the CEO role in almost every industry in Australia. Meanwhile, just 22 per cent of CEOs and 42 per cent of managers in Australia are women.

At home, women continue to bear the lion’s share of domestic labour and caring responsibilities, and are far more likely to engage in paid work in a part-time capacity and in lower-paid industries. Female entrepreneurs are much less likely to secure VC funding and are more likely to face discrimination.

And as we learnt earlier this year, some of the country’s largest and most recognisable employers have a gender pay gap of 30 to 40 per cent in favour of male employees. Recent research from e61 Institute revealed that the bulk of the hourly gender pay gap is because women are being paid less than men within the same occupation. 

Amid this landscape, how can we promote better and more gender-equal workplace practices that will allow men and women to thrive? It’s tough, but with true buy-in from men, there are certain activities, conversations and policies that can influence real change.