19 Sep Education and Training Still Reproduce Gender Inequality, Jobs and Skills Australia Confirms
Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE) welcomes the release of Jobs and Skills Australia’s second paper in its Gender Economic Equality Study: Education and training divides – Gendered skills, pathways and outcomes.
This important national study confirms what WAVE and our members have long argued: Australia’s education and training system continues to reproduce deeply entrenched gendered divides, with women and men channelled into highly segregated pathways that limit opportunity, constrain workforce participation, and perpetuate inequality across the life course.
The paper’s findings are stark:
- Training pipelines are not shifting segregation. Despite strong female participation in VET and higher education overall, distinct gender divisions persist across fields of study. Only 20% of fields have gender-balanced completions.
- Skills are underutilised. One in three women graduates are working below their skill potential, compared to just over one in four men.
- Economic returns remain unequal. Even with higher levels of qualification, women consistently earn less than men, with pay gaps widening over time.
- Intersectional disadvantage persists. CALD women, First Nations women, and women with disability face additional barriers, experiencing weaker economic outcomes post-training than their peers.
For those of us working to advance gender and intersectional equity in skills and vocational education, this evidence underscores the urgency of reform. WAVE believes that change must go beyond participation targets to tackle the structures that shape opportunity from early schooling through to work. That means:
- Transforming training pathways to disrupt gendered norms and build genuinely inclusive entry points into all fields.
- Embedding gender impact analysis into system design, qualifications, and funding models.
- Resourcing wrap-around supports for women and under-represented cohorts to access, complete, and thrive in training, particularly in male-dominated trades and emerging industries.
- Valuing skills equally. We must confront the cultural and economic undervaluation of care and education roles that disproportionately employ women, while addressing gender bias in skill recognition and classification frameworks.
This paper is a vital contribution to the national conversation and provides the evidence base needed to act. WAVE looks forward to the release of the third paper in this study, which will bring forward recommendations for reform. We will continue to champion the voices of women in vocational and adult education, ensuring that policy change reflects the lived realities of learners and workers across Australia.
Contact:
Kit McMahon Convenor – WAVE