Why this matters
Who undertakes unpaid care is one of the biggest drivers of workplace gender inequality. Flexible work and leave entitlements, including parental leave, help Victorians of all genders balance paid work with caring and other responsibilities. But structural and cultural factors mean women continue to undertake a disproportionate share of unpaid care, particularly in heterosexual relationships. Increasing men’s uptake of flexible work and parental leave is therefore critical to achieving gender equality.
The Commission defines flexible work as an agreement initiated by an employee with their employer to work in a way that is outside the standard arrangement for that role. This can include things like working more hours over fewer days, flexible start and finish times or job-share arrangements. It is different to part-time work, which is a specific employment type. Read the full definition in the audit guidance. Access to supportive flexible work and leave is vital so that carers of all genders can stay and progress in paid work. It can improve quality of life and community participation and is particularly valuable for people with disability.
However, where uptake of leave and flexibility is heavily skewed by gender, these same arrangements can reinforce inequality rather than reduce it. For example, those working flexibly may be less visible to managers, or may be seen as less committed to their job. If these people are mostly women, it can lead to gender-unequal outcomes at work.
You can read more in the Baseline report (2021, pp. 83-84).
How we define progress
Parental leave and flexible work help employees balance paid work with family and other responsibilities, but it is overwhelmingly women who access them. When men take more parental leave and work more flexibly, they become more engaged in family and community life. In heterosexual relationships, men accessing leave and flexibility enables their women partners to participate more in paid work.
For this reason, the Commission assesses this indicator holistically, focusing mainly on whether men’s uptake is increasing, because increasing men’s uptake is the clearest indicator that unpaid care is becoming more equally shared. Changes in women’s uptake are harder to read. This is because increased use of flexible work and leave by women can signal better organisational support (and may help some women move from part-time to full-time work where they wish), but it can also signal a widening gap in who carries unpaid care at home. The Commission therefore considers whether more men are working flexibly or taking parental leave, whether men are taking longer parental leave on average, whether gender gaps are closing, and any significant shifts in women’s access. Gender-disaggregated survey data further reveals how perceptions of leave and flexibility differ by gender.
Progress between 2021 and 2025
The data shows encouraging shifts in workplace flexibility and care arrangements. Between 2021 and 2025, men’s uptake of flexible work increased more than women’s. Both women and men had greater access to carer’s leave in 2025. Most industries achieved increases in the amount of parental leave taken by men, with the most significant increases in:
- community and cultural services
- universities
- TAFE and other education
- transport
- local government.
These trends are important because sustainable gender equality requires not only increased participation of women in leadership and higher-paid roles, but also more equal participation of men in unpaid care.
However, the picture here is mixed. Across the sector as a whole, the average duration of men’s parental leave fell between 2023 and 2025. At the same time, women’s leave duration increased, widening the gap in who takes time out to care. This is despite more supportive entitlements for all parents in many enterprise agreements and policies. It is clear that policy settings alone are insufficient to change behaviour, and that cultural and behavioural barriers continue to influence who takes primary responsibility for care. Given that most industries improved men’s uptake of parental leave, the overall drop in the duration of men’s leave suggests that the sector-wide decline is heavily influenced by large falls in a few big industries (see table 6.4 for the average duration of men’s parental leave by industry).
Because these patterns persist, increasing men’s uptake of parental leave will now be one of the Commissioner’s regulatory priorities.
Key data measures are presented in Tables 6.1 to 6.4. Findings are discussed in further detail after the tables.
Table 6.1: Uptake of flexible work
| Arrangement type | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 | Change 2021-2025 | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women’s uptake of flexible work | 23.7% | 22.0% | 27.1% | +3.4pp | Moderate (Holistic) |
| Men’s uptake of flexible work | 14.9% | 15.7% | 19.6% | +4.7pp | |
| Gender gap in uptake of flexible work | -8.8% | -6.3% | -7.4% | +1.4pp | |
| Women’s workplace flexibility support index (score out of 5) | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.2 | +0.2 | Excellent (18 – Matrix) |
| Men’s workplace flexibility support index (score out of 5) | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.2 | +0.2 | Excellent (18 – Matrix) |
| Workplace flexibility support index for people of self-described gender (score out of 5) | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.9 | +0.3 | n/a |
Source: Workplace gender audit workforce data, 2021, 2023 and 2025.People matter survey data, 2021, 2023 and 2025.
Notes: To understand how to interpret the different types of progress ratings, see Data measures in Appendix 1. To read more about how the Commission calculates gender gaps, see Gender gaps in Appendix 1. Gender gaps are always calculated between men and women. A gap greater than zero is in favour of men, and a gap less than zero is in favour of women. The workplace flexibility support index figure brings together 3 questions from the People matter survey: ‘I am confident that if I requested a flexible work arrangement, it would be given due consideration’; ‘My organisation would support me if I needed to take family violence leave’; and ‘My direct line manager supports working flexibly’. It is measured on a 5-point scale. The change column may not always reflect the exact difference between years due to rounding.
Table 6.2: Gender gap in flexible work by industry
| Industry | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 | Percentage point change 2021-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community and cultural services | -11.5 % | -9.2% | -8.2% | +3.3pp |
| Finance and insurance | -5.5% | -23.9% | -15.6% | -10.1pp |
| Local government | +0.2% | -2.2% | -2.2% | -2.4pp |
| Other | -6.9% | -1.8% | -2.4% | +4.5pp |
| Police and emergency services | -44.7% | -16.5% | -19.8% | +24.9pp |
| Public health care | -1.6% | -1.8% | -0.7% | +0.9pp |
| TAFE and other education | -6.8% | -7.9% | -8.6% | -1.8pp |
| Transport | -1.7% | -5.5% | -8.0% | -6.3pp |
| Universities | -10.4% | -2.8% | -2.3% | +8.1pp |
| Victorian Public Service | -18.9% | -21.2% | -21.5% | -2.6pp |
| Water and land management | -3.9% | -15.9% | -15.2% | -11.4pp |
Source: Workplace gender audit workforce data, 2021, 2023 and 2025.
Notes: To read more about how the Commission calculates gender gaps, see Gender gaps in Appendix 1. Gender gaps are always calculated between men and women. A gap greater than zero is in favour of men, and a gap less than zero is in favour of women. The percentage point change column may not always reflect the exact difference between years due to rounding.
Table 6.3: Parental and carers leave trends
| Measure | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 | Change 2021-2025 | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average parental leave taken by women (weeks) | n/a | 25.7 | 27.0 | +1.2 | Poor (Holistic) |
| Average parental leave taken by men (weeks) | n/a | 7.4 | 5.7 | -1.8 | |
| Gender gap in average weeks of parental leave taken | n/a | -71.1% | -78.9% | -7.9pp | |
| Women accessing carer’s leave | 29.9% | 33.5% | 38.4% | +8.5pp | n/a |
| Men accessing carer’s leave | 27.9% | 30.9% | 34.2% | +6.3pp | n/a |
Source: Workplace gender audit workforce data, 2021, 2023 and 2025.
Notes: 2021 parental leave data is excluded from this analysis because of inconsistencies in how data was captured and reported across organisations in that reporting year. To support comparability and consistency of analysis, parental leave insights are based on 2023 and 2025 data only. To understand how to interpret the different types of progress ratings, see Data measures in Appendix 1. To read more about how the Commission calculates gender gaps, see Gender gaps in Appendix 1. Gender gaps are always calculated between men and women. A gap greater than zero is in favour of men, and a gap less than zero is in favour of women. The change column may not always reflect the exact difference between years due to rounding.
Table 6.4: Men’s average weeks of parental leave by industry
| Industry | 2023 | 2025 | Number of weeks change 2023-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community and cultural services | 4.3 | 8.5 | +4.2 weeks |
| Finance and insurance | 7.9 | 6.2 | -1.7 weeks |
| Local government | 6.2 | 7.3 | +1.1 weeks |
| Other | 7.4 | 6.0 | -1.4 weeks |
| Police and emergency services | 8.0 | 1.8 | -6.2 weeks |
| Public health care | 12.3 | 4.4 | -7.9 weeks |
| TAFE and other education | 2.6 | 4.7 | +2.1 weeks |
| Transport | 3.1 | 5.0 | +1.8 weeks |
| Universities | 4.7 | 8.3 | +3.6 weeks |
| Victorian Public Service | 5.6 | 5.5 | -0.1 weeks |
| Water and land management | 5.0 | 8.6 | +3.6 weeks |
Source: Workplace gender audit workforce data, 2021, 2023 and 2025.
Notes: The number of weeks change column may not always reflect the exact difference between years due to rounding.
Signs of progress
Industry breakdowns showed positive trends in parental leave
Men’s uptake of parental leave improved across 6 out of 11 industries between 2023 and 2025. The greatest increase was in community and cultural services, where the average duration of men’s parental leave increased by 4.2 weeks. This was followed by water and land management and universities, where men’s uptake increased by 3.6 weeks. Other improvements were achieved in TAFE and other education (up 2.1 weeks), transport (up 1.8 weeks), and local government (up 1.1 weeks).
Industries where men’s uptake of parental leave declined significantly between 2023 and 2025 include:
- public health care (-7.9 weeks)
- police and emergency services (-6.2 weeks).
These mixed results show that meaningful increases in men’s leave-taking are achievable and are already happening in much of the sector. The task is to understand why some large industries moved sharply in the other direction, and to spread the conditions that are working elsewhere.
More men worked flexibly, narrowing the gender gap
Men’s uptake of flexible work increased to 19.6% in 2025 (up 4.7 percentage points since 2021). Women’s increased to 27.1% (up 3.4 points). This narrowed the gender gap in flexible work. The Commission gave flexible work a holistic rating of ‘moderate’, because both groups increased their uptake, men’s grew more, and the gap is closing.
This is a more meaningful marker of progress than it might first appear. Higher flexible work uptake among women supports their workforce participation, but men’s uptake is the clearer signal of structural change. This is because it suggests men are taking on more of the responsibility for care and domestic life (see, for example, Eikhof 2012; Elson 2017).
More women and men accessed carer’s leave
The proportion of both women and men using carer’s leave grew between 2021 and 2025 to 38.4% of women (up 8.5 points) and 34.2% of men (up 6.3 points). Further research is needed to understand the gendered dynamics: the data shows who took carer’s leave over a 12-month period, but not how often or for how long.9 As with parental leave, the duration of leave taken is a crucial marker of equality in caring and is the more revealing measure.
Satisfaction with access to flexible work increased for all genders
The ‘workplace flexibility support index’ brings together several measures from the employee experience survey data that relate to working flexibly.10 The index is measured on a 5-point scale, with anything above 4 classed as within the ideal range. A score of 4 or 5 correlates to an answer of ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ to the positive statements about flexible work in the survey.
In 2025, the workplace flexibility support index was 4.2 for both women and men, up 0.2 since 2021. Gender diverse employees’ satisfaction rose 0.3 over the same period to 3.9.
While the workplace flexibility support index results are positive, duty holders should not be complacent. Some public sector roles cannot be performed from home, and for frontline and client-facing work employers need to find other ways to offer flexibility. Sustaining and broadening access so flexibility is genuinely available across all roles and levels, not only those easily done remotely, remains important.
Areas for attention
The whole-of-sector gap in the duration of women’s and men’s parental leave increased
At the sector level, the average duration of parental leave taken by men fell between 2023 and 2025. At the same time, women’s rose slightly. This resulted in a wider gender gap. The scale of the imbalance is stark. For every week of parental leave women took in 2023, men took around a third of a week. By 2025, this fell to around a fifth of a week.
This decline came despite more supportive parental leave provisions in many enterprise agreements and policies. For example, recent years have seen a national focus on encouraging parents of all genders to take parental leave, alongside a marked improvement in government-funded parental leave provisions (Prime Minister and Cabinet 2024). In addition, the most recent Victorian Public Service enterprise agreement included improved parental leave provisions. When entitlements improve but men’s uptake falls, the barrier is cultural rather than structural. Men are not taking leave that is increasingly available to them. The Commission assigned a holistic rating of ‘poor’ to parental leave, reflecting both the fall in men’s uptake and the widening gender gap. Given this, parental leave will now be one of the Commissioner’s regulatory priorities.
The sector-level fall in men’s uptake of parental leave is heavily shaped by large declines in a few major industries. Most notably, this included public health care (down 7.9 weeks) and police and emergency services (down 6.2 weeks). Because public health care is one of the largest industries in the sector, a change there can move the whole-of-sector figure substantially.
At the industry level, changes to the gender gap in flexible work were mixed
At the whole-of-sector level the gender gap in flexible work narrowed slightly, but industry results were mixed. The headline results therefore need careful interpretation. In 5 of 11 industries, the gap narrowed. The largest apparent reduction, in police and emergency services (where the gap narrowed by 24.9 percentage points), was driven mainly by a fall in women’s uptake rather than a rise in men’s uptake of flexible work. This means the result should not be read as straightforward progress.
By contrast, in water and land management, and finance and insurance, the gap widened in favour of women. Yet these industries also recorded the strongest growth in men’s uptake (up 20.7 and 19.3 percentage points respectively). The gap widened only because women’s uptake grew even more (up 32.1 and 29.4 percentage points). This illustrates why the gap alone must be interpreted with care. The same direction of movement can reflect either progress or its opposite, depending on what is driving it.
Commissioner expectations
Reducing gender inequality cannot rely solely on supporting women to participate more equally in paid work. It also requires workplaces where men are expected, supported and encouraged to take on a greater share of unpaid care.
The Commissioner expects duty holders to increase men’s uptake and duration of parental leave, and to build workplace cultures that genuinely support flexible work and leave-taking for people of all genders. Taking parental leave, carer’s leave or working flexibly should never be a barrier to career progression, leadership opportunities or access to development.
Culture is the key lever, particularly for parental leave. Where entitlements have improved but men’s uptake has fallen, the barrier lies in workplace, cultural and behavioural norms, not policy. Men taking parental leave should be normal, visible and actively encouraged at every level of the organisation, including among senior leaders who set the tone. Removing primary/secondary carer distinctions from parental leave policies and enterprise agreements is one practical step that supports a more equal division of care.
Organisations should monitor gender differences in the uptake of flexible work and leave and interpret these patterns carefully. Narrowing gender gaps can reflect increased uptake by men, but they can also result from reduced access for women. Organisations should therefore ensure flexible work is genuinely available, supported and visible across all roles and levels.
For frontline and client-facing roles, duty holders should design flexible work arrangements that respond to operational requirements while meeting the needs of their workforce. Options may include flexible hours, job sharing and other innovative models. Above all, people of all genders who work flexibly or take leave must have the same opportunities to develop their careers. This is essential if organisations are to retain talent, reduce gender inequality and ensure employees of all genders can participate fully in both paid work and unpaid care.
Footnotes
- The Commission has funded research to better understand the gendered experiences of caring in the Victorian public sector (see Dangar 2023). The project highlighted the continuing gendered nature of care work and how it affects career trajectories. It also emphasised that groups facing intersecting inequalities have higher rates of caring responsibilities. The researchers advocated for organisations to collect workforce data which captures the diversity of caregiving leave-taking patterns among staff.
- The index brings together 3 questions from the employee experience survey data: ‘I am confident that if I requested a flexible work arrangement, it would be given due consideration’, ‘My organisation would support me if I needed to take family violence leave’, and ‘My direct line manager supports working flexibly’.
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