All change,still gendered: The Australian labour market in the 2020s

Abstract

Drawing on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, this paper assesses whether women's position in the Australian labour market has improved since the early 2000s. Women have increased their educational attainment and participation in paid work, yet progress toward gender equality remains limited. Women continue to be less likely than men to work full-time, more likely to experience underemployment and financial stress, and remain concentrated in low-paid, insecure and highly feminised sectors. Occupational and industrial segregation persists, and the gender pay gap has narrowed only modestly despite rising qualifications, reflecting entrenched patterns of gender undervaluation and gender bias in wage setting arrangements. Although women's educational gains have contributed to narrowing of the gender wage gap, declining returns to education and experience has limited progress. These findings highlight the continuing influence of structural and institutional forces on gendered labour-market outcomes and echo longstanding critiques of market-based approaches to gender equality. They also highlight the critical role of gender undervaluation assessments.