What percentage of the Australian workforce is women?

Women make up 51.6% of the Australian workforce, but only 43% of managers and 39% of senior leaders — a 12.6-point gap between women's share of the workforce and of leadership (WGEA 2024-25, via FairWork Mate).

Is this the gender pay gap?

No — this measures gender representation and leadership, not the dollar pay gap. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) publishes employer-level gender pay gaps separately. This page uses WGEA's public workforce-composition data, compiled by FairWork Mate.

FairWork Mate Insights · Gender equality

Women, work and the leadership gap

Name: Gender Representation & Leadership Gap in Australia (2024-25)
Creator: FairWork Mate
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/

Women are 51.6% of the Australian workforce — but just 39% of senior leaders. Where the leadership gap is widest, by industry.

Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) public data, 2024-25. Representation, not the dollar pay gap.

51.6%

of the workforce are women

43%

of managers are women

39%

of senior leaders are women

12.6pp

leadership gap (workforce vs leaders)

The leadership gap by industry

How far women's share of senior leaders trails their share of the workforce, in percentage points. A bigger bar means a bigger climb from the floor to the top. Retail Trade has the widest gap.

Retail Trade16pp

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing14.4pp

Financial and Insurance Services14pp

Health Care and Social Assistance13.6pp

Arts and Recreation Services13.3pp

Education and Training12.5pp

Accommodation and Food Services11.8pp

Wholesale Trade8.9pp

Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services8.3pp

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services7.3pp

Information Media and Telecommunications6.7pp

Administrative and Support Services5.2pp

The pattern is consistent. Women are the majority of the workforce (51.6%) yet a minority of leaders (39%). The gap narrows at the manager level (43%) but widens again at the top — a glass-ceiling signature that shows up across almost every industry.

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How we compiled this. Figures are derived from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency's public data file (2024-25), aggregated to industry (ANZSIC division) level. This measures workforce and leadership representation — the “leadership gap” is women's share of the workforce minus their share of senior leaders. It is not the dollar gender pay gap, which WGEA reports separately at the employer level. General information, not legal advice.

FairWork Mate Insights — gender representation & leadership in Australia, from WGEA open data.

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