Commissioner submission: National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality

In 2023, the Australian Government released a discussion paper for a National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality (National Strategy).

The Commissioner made a submission to support developing the National Strategy. It made recommendations to strengthen gender equality across Australia:

• create a national legislative framework and improve collaboration between governments
• collect better intersectional gender data
• strengthen workplace laws to provide:
  • paid leave for menstruation, menopause and gender affirmation
  • additional carer's leave
• embed gender impact assessments across the Commonwealth public sector
• take targeted actions to close the gender pay gap in superannuation
• introduce family-friendly policies for early childhood education, to improve women's workforce participation
• increase recruitment and retention of:
  • women and gender-diverse people in male-dominated industries
  • men in female-dominated industries
• increase women's representation in leadership positions.

The National Strategy was released in March 2024. It is called Working for Women: A strategy for gender equality. Read more about the National Strategy on the Australian Government's website(opens in a new window).

Download and read the Commissioner's submission below.