The 2026 Gender Equity Insights report, Unlocking Australia’s Workforce Potential draws on more than a decade of WGEA data to examine the pathways that shape participation, progression, leadership representation and pay outcomes in Australian workplaces.
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The report looks beyond the headline numbers to explore where talent and capability may be underutilised and what employers can do to create more inclusive and productive workplaces.
It finds that while progress has been made in women's workforce and leadership representation, structural barriers in progression, retention and caring responsibilities continue to drive gender inequality and pay gaps.
A key insight is the persistence of the "male pedestal effect", with men remaining overrepresented in CEO roles even within several female-dominated industries.
The promotion and retention analysis is a particular strength of the report, highlighting that women's advancement is often constrained less by promotion opportunities than by workforce exits and career interruptions.
The findings are broadly consistent with recent international evidence, including the World Economic Forum's 2026 leadership report, which similarly identifies leadership pathways, care responsibilities and structural barriers as key challenges.
The business performance chapter explores associations between leadership gender composition and organisational outcomes, highlighting that companies with more gender-balanced leadership teams are more likely to demonstrate stronger business performance and productivity measures.
In seeking to understand how employers can retain women and ensure they reach the highest level of leadership; the researchers found an association between employers with flexible workplace strategies and those who have more women CEOs and Key Management Personnel. This association could provide a practical avenue for employers seeking to improve retention of talented employees.
WGEA CEO Christine Castley OAM said analysis shows employers where they can make better use of the talent already available to them.
“We know that employers want to attract good people, keep them and see them succeed. This research shows why it is worth looking at the whole talent pipeline: who comes in, who progresses, who stays and who leaves,” Ms Castley said.
“Recruitment is part of the picture, but so too are retention, career pathways, job design and working arrangements that enable people to stay and progress. Making better use of the talent already available to us is good for workplace gender equality, good workforce strategy and good business.”
3 key recommendations for employers
Make progress measurable and accountable
Open pathways into well-paid, rewarding and senior roles
Share care and sustain careers
What is BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights?
Gender Equity Insights is an annual report produced by Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) in collaboration with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
The reports identify trends, policies and practices that work to address gender inequality in the workplace.
The analysis is based on data collected in the annual WGEA census of private sector and Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees.
Download past reports
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2025: The Power of Balance.
The 10th report shows organisations taking action to improve gender equality see lower staff turnover, more women in leadership and better shareholder value.
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2024: The changing nature of part-time work in Australia
The ninth report explores the state of part-time employment and flexible working arrangements in Australia. It examines the prominence and evolution of part-time work and the potential for part-time to include more flexible work arrangements aligned with employee preferences and the evolving nature of work.
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2023: How to speed up gender equality
Titled, Accelerating the Pace of Change, the 2023 report examined the actions employers can take to reduce the gender pay gap and developed a 'maturity framework' for workplace gender equality.
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2022 How Australia's gender pay gap could narrow by 1/3
The seventh edition, titled The State of Inequality in Australia, found Australia’s gender pay gap could narrow by a third if a more balanced gender concentration was achieved across all industries and occupations. It also broke down the gender pay gap by location, using data collected by WGEA for the first time.
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2021 What actions do the top performing employers on gender equality have in common?
Making it a Priority identified the actions top performing employers took to improve workplace gender equality. it found increasing the share of women on boards led to better outcomes for gender equality and better business outcomes across a suite of metrics.
Key finding: “Companies that consistently undertake pay gap audits see a faster reduction in gender pay gaps within their organisation."
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2020 The business benefits of improving gender equality
Delivering the Business Outcomes found a strong and convincing causal relationship between increasing the share of women in leadership and subsequent improvements in company performance.
This relationship is present when increasing women’s representation on boards, increasing the share of women in the most senior leadership tier of the company and when appointing a female CEO.
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2019 Breaking through the glass ceiling
This fourth report in the BCEC WGEA Gender Equity Insight Series, provides insight into positive change that has been made across different sectors in recent years and highlights the importance of workplace policy initiatives in ensuring women continue to progress into senior positions and in narrowing the gender pay gap in Australia.
The findings showcase the crucial role flexible workplace policies, employer provided on-site childcare and employer-funded paid parental leave has on achieving this positive change.
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2018 Audits, action based on data, and accountability are they key to reducing the gender pay gap
Inside the Gender Pay Gap finds pay audits alone are not enough to break the inertia needed to end the gender pay gap. Measurement combined with action and accountability is the trifecta that drives the strongest improvements in pay equity outcomes. Actions do make a difference in promoting greater gender pay equity, but more so when outcomes are ‘owned’ by organisational leadership.
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2017 What are the key drivers of Australia's gender pay gap?
This report examines the link between gender segregation within organisations and the gender pay gap. It looks at the gender pay gap among graduates at different points along the earnings distribution and across industries. A final Special Investigation section focuses the spotlight on women in leadership positions.
BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2016 Increasing the representation of women on boards lowers the gender pay gap
Inside Australia's Gender Pay Gap looks at the link between female Board representation and the size of the gender pay gap. The research uncovered some of the strongest evidence to date that shows greater representation of women on Boards is associated with a significant reduction in the gender pay gap.
The report findings also draw attention to the greater remuneration men receive compared to women in almost every scenario, but particularly among more senior occupation levels and when additional remuneration is taken into account.
Learn how to design roles for part-time, conduct a gender pay gap analysis or create a workplace gender equality action plan.
Super charge your progress towards workplace gender equality with our Action Planning Tool
Learn how to undertake this critical first step to improving workplace gender equality.