Victorians deserve workplaces and communities where fairness isn’t just aspirational – it’s realised. That’s why, five years since the commencement of Victoria’s landmark Gender Equality Act 2020, the pursuit of gender equality remains so important.
In a cost-of-living crisis, more Victorians rely on the public sector for programs and services that are fair and equitable. At the same time, the sector is undergoing significant reform. Job cuts, budget savings measures and the adoption of AI are affecting many parts of the workforce. Periods of rapid change like this carry a real risk: that existing gender inequalities become further entrenched as new systems and structures are built. Organisations have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to design gender equality into those systems, processes, and policies now, to avoid trying to retrofit it later.
The Gender Equality Act requires public sector organisations to proactively address gender inequality in their workplaces, and in the programs, policies and services they deliver to the public. It does this in part, through 7 workplace gender equality indicators that, together, capture how interconnected these issues are. Measuring and driving progress against these indicators is core to the Act’s purpose. For the first time, Victoria has longitudinal, sector-wide data that tracks whether public sector organisations are making measurable progress over time. That transparency and accountability framework is a significant reform in its own right.
The data in this report shows that structural progress is beginning to take hold across parts of the Victorian public sector – including in some areas that have historically been most resistant to change. In 2025, women’s representation in senior leadership increased. More women were working in traditionally men-concentrated occupations and industries. Gender pay gaps narrowed within many organisations and across 7 of the sector’s 11 industries. Men’s uptake of parental leave improved in several industries. These are meaningful signs that change is possible.
But progress is neither consistent nor fast enough. Structural gender inequality continues to shape workplace experiences and outcomes for Victorians every day. There is still work to be done to eliminate sexual harassment in public sector workplaces. Women’s experience of sexual harassment barely shifted at the sector level, and for non-binary and gender-diverse people it increased. The whole-of-sector pay gap has not narrowed since 2021. (It is worth noting, however, that organisations who reported in both 2021 and 2025 improved on average – this means the 2025 gender pay gap reflects broader reporting coverage, and where women and men sit across different industries and pay bands, rather than a decline in pay equity.) The gender pay gap was wider for women in women-concentrated industries such as public health care and community and cultural services, and widest of all for First Nations women.
Five years into implementation, we have moved beyond establishing baselines and identifying problems. We now have evidence about where progress is occurring, where it is stalling, and what organisations must do to shift this. Throughout this report I set out my expectations for organisations under each workplace gender equality indicator, to help focus effort where it can have the greatest impact.
My immediate regulatory priorities are the inequalities causing the greatest harm and those where the evidence suggests the greatest opportunity for improvement. This includes reducing gender pay gaps, strengthening the prevention of – and response to – workplace sexual harassment, and increasing men’s uptake of parental leave to support more equitable sharing of care.
Intersectionality is central to the Commission's approach. We recognise that some groups face compounded forms of gender inequality, and that addressing these intersecting barriers is essential to achieving fair outcomes for all Victorians.
Gender inequality is an entrenched structural and social issue. Shifting it requires sustained effort across government, workplaces and the broader community. The Commission’s work adds a strong regulatory lever to Victoria’s well-established gender equality ecosystem.
I want to thank the many advocates, change-makers and leaders who pursue this work relentlessly across their own organisations and communities. By continuing to strengthen transparency and accountability in public sector organisations, we will build safer, fairer workplaces, deliver better programs and services, and provide an example for other sectors across Victoria and the nation. Together, we’ll move closer to a gender-equal Victoria.
Dr Niki Vincent
Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner
Updated