30 Oct WAVE welcomes Jobs and Skills Australia’s final report calling for national action on gender equality in skills and training

Posted at 08:31h in Advocacy and Lobbying by

Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE) welcomes the release of the third and final paper from Jobs and Skills Australia’s (JSA) Gender Economic Equality Study — Speeding Up Progress Towards Gender Economic Equality . It acknowledges that ‘gender economic inequality remains one of the most persistent and complex challenges facing Australia’s labour market and skills systems’ and calls for a coordinated national effort to accelerate gender equality across Australia’s workforce, skills and training systems.

The final report brings together findings from JSA’s two earlier papers to provide a landmark evidence base and ten national recommendations aimed at addressing structural barriers that continue to limit women’s participation, pay and career progression — particularly within male-dominated industries and vocational education and training (VET) pathways.

WAVE Convenor, Kit McMahon, said the report provides a clear blueprint for the systemic change that WAVE, women’s organisations and educators have long called for.

“This study confirms what we see every day across our education and training systems — that gender inequality is deeply embedded in structures and systems, not individuals,” said Ms McMahon.

“We need to move beyond ‘fixing women’ to transforming the systems that shape opportunities, pay and progression. Jobs and Skills Australia’s recommendations give governments and industry a clear framework for doing just that.”

A collective call for reform

WAVE is proud to have contributed to the Study in collaboration with other organisations and partners across the skills and gender equality sectors.
Its submission to the consultation is quoted directly in Paper 3, and WAVE is named alongside TAFEs, group training organisations, RTOs, unions and community bodies in Recommendation 4, which highlights the role of peak organisations in building a national, coordinated response to gender segregation in vocational pathways.

“This work has been deeply collaborative,” said Ms McMahon.

“Across the sector — from educators and unions to researchers and women’s alliances — there’s strong consensus that gender equality in skills and training is essential to Australia’s economic prosperity. We welcome JSA’s recognition of this shared effort.”

Maintaining momentum and moving to action

While Jobs and Skills Australia has provided a vital evidence base and policy advice, WAVE is urging governments to maintain momentum and move swiftly to implementation.

“Across the range and spectrum of work underway by WAVE members, supporters and colleagues — people working every day to address inequity in skills, education and economic policy — there is little question about what gender inequity looks like,” said Ms McMahon.

“There is near-universal agreement that it exists. The real question now is how to address it. People want to be shown how to do this work — to build capacity and capability, to embed equity in practice. This is not a ‘print a toolkit and it’s done’ exercise. This is long-term, sustained change work that will strengthen our economy, our workplaces and our society as a whole.”

WAVE is calling on governments to ensure that the recommendations from the Study are not only endorsed but embedded through policy, funding and governance, and that implementation is supported by the training, resources and leadership needed to build capacity and drive lasting transformation.

WAVE will continue working with partners across education, training, and gender equity networks to advocate for the implementation of the Study’s recommendations through the Working for Women Strategy (2024–2034) and the next National Skills Agreement (2028).

About the Study

The Gender Economic Equality Study comprises three papers:

  1. Paper 1 – New Perspectives on Old Problems (2024): Introduced the Gender Segregation Intensity Scale (GSIS).
  2. Paper 2 – Education and Training Divides (2024): Examined how gendered pathways in education and training shape inequities.
  3. Paper 3 – Speeding Up Progress Towards Gender Economic Equality (2025): Consolidates findings and sets ten national recommendations for systemic reform.

The Study identifies gender equality as both an equity and economic issue — noting that only 21 per cent of Australian occupations are gender-balanced, with entrenched segregation contributing to pay gaps and skill shortages.

Further information

 

Media Contact:
Kit McMahon
Convenor, Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE)
wave@wave.org.au



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