{"id":1681,"date":"2026-01-23T13:37:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T13:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ayercut.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/23\/fewer-than-1-in-4-australians-work-in-a-gender-balanced-occupation-fixing-it-is-in-all-our-interests\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T13:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T13:37:04","slug":"fewer-than-1-in-4-australians-work-in-a-gender-balanced-occupation-fixing-it-is-in-all-our-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ayercut.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/23\/fewer-than-1-in-4-australians-work-in-a-gender-balanced-occupation-fixing-it-is-in-all-our-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"Fewer than 1 in 4 Australians work in a gender-balanced occupation. Fixing it is in all our interests"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span> Claudio Schwarz\/Unsplash<\/a>, CC BY<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Australia\u2019s workforce is almost evenly split<\/a> between men and women. Yet fewer than one in four Australians work in a gender-balanced occupation.<\/p>\n

This has improved over time, but at a glacial rate. In 1990, more than half of men (52%) worked in occupations that were more than 80% male<\/a>. Thirty-five years on, that figure has only declined to 41% of men. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the share of women in female-dominated occupations (which are more than 60% female) has largely hovered between 60% to 65%<\/a> since the mid-1990s. <\/p>\n

This also holds true within industries. Fewer than half of all employees are in gender-balanced industries, and three of the five industries with the largest workforces \u2013 health care and social assistance, construction, and education and training \u2013 have become even more segregated since 1990<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Between 2006 and 2021, just one in five occupations<\/a> became less segregated. <\/p>\n

Why does it matter? Turns out, it\u2019s bad for workers, businesses and the economy.<\/p>\n

The hit to incomes and productivity<\/h2>\n

As this graph shows, while most Australian industries have improved their gender balance between 1990 and 2025, one-third remain male-dominated.<\/p>\n

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