The latest Gender Gap Report from the World Economic Forum shows that since the Albanese Labor Government took office, Australia’s world gender equality ranking has jumped up 17 places from 43rd to 26th – the largest increase since the index began in 2006.
At the election, Labor promised to make Australia a world leader on gender equality after a decade of stalled progress under the former Coalition Government.
This result shows just how serious the Albanese Government is about delivering on this promise and improving the lives of women across the country.
Speaking today at the Women for Election Forum, the Minister for Women, Senator Katy Gallagher, noted that this historic 17 place jump is a direct result of Labor’s commitment to gender equal representation in politics. As a result of this commitment, the Government is now the first Australian Commonwealth Government in history to be made up of a majority (53%) of women and the number of women in Cabinet has increased to 10 out 23 members (43%) — the largest number of women ever in an Australian Federal Cabinet.
“Better gender representation leads to better outcomes and I am proud to be part of a government that hasn’t wasted any time in delivering the crucial gender equality reforms that will be felt for generations for come.
“Things like extending and modernising the paid parental leave scheme, expanding the single parenting payment, legislating Australia’s first paid domestic violence leave and increasing transparency on gender pay gap reporting.
“Results like this show just how important it is for more women to be involved in political life, across the political spectrum and at all levels of government.”
The full Global Gender Gap Report 2023.