Shock Budget twist reveals women are working harder than ever – but they’re still being paid less than men

Australian women are proving they really can do it all – except be paid the same amount as their male counterparts.

Federal Treasury analysis has revealed the number of women holding down jobs has hit historic highs across the country, even though they continue to shoulder most the responsibility for raising young families and are still viewed as the nation’s ‘natural caregivers’.

Despite their mammoth contribution, the official figures showed women continued to trail behind their male colleagues when it comes to their paycheques, with full-time female employees pulling in almost $250 less a week on average.

The Albanese Government used the Federal Budget on Tuesday to reinforce its commitment to redressing the situation and creating greater economic equality for women.

According to the Budget figures, about 63 per cent of Australian women were now participating in the workforce, compared with about 71 per cent of men, ‘representing an increase of almost 20 percentage points over the past 40 years’.

In their ‘Women’s Budget Statement’, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher outlined their vision for the nation’s female population. 

They said the government was committed to targeting ‘key cost-of-living relief initiatives’ and the ‘long-term drivers’ inhibiting even more women from joining the workforce or obtaining pay parity.

‘Women’s workforce participation reached record highs in 2025 and the gender pay gap hit record lows in 2024,’ they said in the statement released on Tuesday night.

‘However, gaps between women’s and men’s economic outcomes persist.

‘Women still earn less than men on average, are more likely to engage in part-time, low-paid and insecure work, and are more likely to have a disrupted career trajectory due to unpaid caring responsibilities.

‘Relationship breakdown and violence can also worsen women’s economic insecurity.

‘Reducing barriers to women’s workforce participation is central to improving women’s economic equality and security, with benefits also to their families and the economy.

‘The government’s tax cuts for every taxpayer are also designed to make it easier for women to work more and keep more of what they earn.’

Dr Chalmers and Ms Gallagher said the dramatic rise in Australia’s female workforce came on the back of evolving social attitudes, better educational opportunities for women and an increasing acceptance of more flexible work arrangements.

Although they said some ‘progress’ had been made in narrowing the gender pay gap, there was still ‘more to do’.

‘The gender pay gap has narrowed significantly to reach record lows in 2024,’ they said.

‘Recent progress to close the gap has been especially marked…[it] has fallen to 11.9 per cent as of November 2024 – down from 14.1 per cent in May 2022.

‘In this same time period, women’s full-time average weekly ordinary time earnings have grown by $217.40 a week, helping women to better deal with cost-of-living pressures and build their lifelong economic security.

‘This progress has been driven in part by recent increases to minimum and award wages, as women are disproportionately represented in low-paid and award-reliant jobs.’

As promising as that was, it meant women were lagging behind their male colleagues when it came to their take home pay.

‘The gender pay gap continues to persist from the time women start their careers,’ they said.

‘On average, women working full-time earn $246.30 less per week or $12,807.60 less per year than men working full-time.’

Dr Chalmers and Ms Gallagher said this was a result of ‘a range of complex, interrelated, and often compounding factors’.

They included differences in gender representation and remuneration across occupations and industries, the impact of caring responsibilities on patterns of work, and gender discrimination and bias.

‘The government’s workplace relations reforms, investments in cheaper early childhood education and care, and expansion of the Paid Parental Leave scheme are having an impact – but there is more to do,’ they said.

‘While narrowing, the gender pay gap persists – a reflection of challenges related to care and flexibility, industry gender segregation, women’s under-representation in senior roles and discrimination.’

The Budget figures revealed women continued to dedicate far more time offering ‘physical and emotional care for children’ then men.

Mothers spent three hours and 34 minutes with their kids each day, while dads spent just two hours and 19 minutes with them.

‘Gendered divisions of paid and unpaid work are prevalent in the Australian economy and broader society,’ Dr Chalmers and Ms Gallagher said.

‘The economic and social contribution of unpaid work is undervalued and may be less visible due to traditional gender attitudes and stereotypes around women and girls being “natural” caregivers.’

They said the difference was even more pronounced when caregiving was expanded to include looking after ageing parents, other family members, and people with disabilities.

‘[But] a more even share of care between parents has benefits for women, men, and children,’ they said.

‘It can free up mothers to further participate in the workforce and can give fathers more time to spend with their children, with research finding care from both parents is important for childhood development and has positive health benefits for fathers.’

Dr Chalmers and Ms Gallagher said parenthood also had ‘a large and persistent effect on the gender earnings gap, reducing female annual earnings by 53 per cent, on average,’ in the first five years after they became a mother.

‘This divergence in earnings following entry into parenthood is often termed the “motherhood penalty” (or “child penalty”) and is driven by reductions in women’s workforce participation, working hours, and wage growth following parenthood,’ they said in their statement.

‘One driver of the motherhood penalty could be flow-on consequences from career breaks and requiring flexibility in working hours to balance care responsibilities.

‘Following parenthood…women experience a 40-percentage point fall in the likelihood of working full-time days and a similar rise in the likelihood of working part-time or variable days.

‘Over time, women are more likely to be employed on a casual basis and to experience underemployment. Women are also less likely to change jobs over time, which may suggest they are restricted from taking up new opportunities because of requirements for flexible work.’

The Albanese Government said it would make it ‘easier’ for parents to balance caring for children ‘with other parts of their lives’ by encouraging more equal sharing of caring responsibilities between parents.

‘Key reforms include significant investments in Paid Parental Leave (PPL) and early childhood education and care,’ Dr Chalmers and Ms Gallagher said.

‘The government is expanding PPL in a way that addresses the needs of working Australian families, provides greater security and flexibility, and empowers the full and equal participation of women in the workforce.

‘As part of the Government’s largest expansion to PPL, the scheme will increase to 24 weeks from 1 July 2025 and 26 weeks from 1 July 2026.

‘In addition to providing families with more leave, the changes also provide greater flexibility for families and support more equal sharing of parenting and household responsibilities.

‘This is in part through increasing the amount of leave parents can take together and extending reserved weeks available for each parent (sole parents receive the full entitlement).’

Mr Chalmers and Ms Gallagher said they were also focussed on building a universal early childhood education and care ‘more affordable and accessible so that families have more choices’.

‘Households often factor the cost of childcare against the earnings of the mother, a reflection of assumptions that care is primarily the role of women and of women’s lower earnings,’ they said.

‘Along with a more even distribution of unpaid care, access to early childhood education and care also plays an important role in enabling parents – particularly mothers – to choose their preferred balance of work and care, while also being important for child development.’