Gender equality strategy makes notable gains – but challenges remain

The Palaszczuk Government’s gender equality strategy is delivering results for Queensland women.

The Government has released the 2022 Annual Queensland Women’s Statement (AQWS) and the 2022 Gender Equality Report Cards (GERC) which shows the gender pay gap has narrowed from 15.8 per cent to 15.6 per cent.

While the results highlight many positive steps forward for women such as women performing fewer hours of unpaid domestic work and pursuing more diverse careers. For example, there was a 2.2 per cent increase in women machinery operators.

There were also some concerning statistics regarding women’s safety. More than 87 per cent of sexual assault victims are women, women are more than three times more likely than men to be killed by a partner and only 27 per cent of Queensland women feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood compared to 60 per cent of men.

Key findings of the annual report cards:

• 57% of the population is female
• participation rate of women in full time employment is 27.2% (up 0.3%)
• overall participation employment rate for women is 48.5% (up 0.5%)
• women make up 40.7% of serving judges and magistrates (up 2.8%)
• women make up 77.6% of staff working in clerical and administration roles (up 0.2%)
• women make up 17% of workers in technical and trade professions (up 1.1%)
• women account for 17.5% of CEOs and managing directors (down 6.3%)

The Government also released the first annual report on progress made in the 2022-27 Queensland Women’s Strategy. The Strategy’s main focus is women’s economic security, which is at the heart of gender equality and underpins all other elements of gender equality.

Gender equality achievements made in 2022 include:

• Providing free period products to students in Queensland state and non-state schools via the installation of Dignity Vending Machines
• Awarding 50% of scholarships of the newly created Queensland Academy of Sport Generation 2032 Elite Coaching program to emerging female coaches
• Delivery of respectful relationships education in all Queensland schools

The Gender Equality Report Cards can be found here: https://www.publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/queensland-womens-strategy-2022-27-report-cards 

The Annual Women's Statement can be found here: https://www.qld.gov.au/annualwomensstatement

Quotes Attributable to Attorney-General and Minister for Women, Shannon Fentiman:

“Overall, there are some very encouraging signs for Queensland women,” Minister Fentiman said.

“We know, having more women working in male-dominated industries is crucial if we are to achieve gender equality, so it’s fantastic to see an increase in women taking on more diverse careers."

“It’s also encouraging to see the gender pay gap closing but the disparity remains far too great, and we need to continue to work harder to bridge that divide as soon as possible.”

“It is completely unacceptable that almost 9 out of 10 victims of sexual assault are women, and that women are more than three times as likely to be killed by a partner."

“It is also disappointing to see a decline in the number of women in CEO and managing director roles – this is in contrast to the appointment of women on government boards."

“In 2015, we set a target of 50 per cent on Queensland Government Boards by 2020 and not only did we reach our target early, we have exceeded it by 4 per cent."

“Representation matters, and the Palaszczuk Government remains focused on creating a better, fairer, and safer Queensland for women and girls.”

ENDS

Media contact:           Phoenix Campbell      0439 949 719