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Women's Index: Australia's Gender Equality Progress Hits Two-Year Low on economic uncertainty

Financy

Key Facts:

•        Financial gender equality reversed in 2025, wiping out previous gains
to finish at its lowest point since December 2023.

•        The Financy Women’s Index (FWX) fell 0.24 points year-on-year to 77.76 points in the December quarter 2025.

•        Widening gender gaps in Underemployment and stalled progress in Pay, Unpaid Work, and Employment drove the decline.

•        Education and Superannuation were the only sub-indices
to show resilience and growth throughout 2025.

•        The median timeframe to equality relatively unchanged at 21.1 years
due to steady historical progress.

March 6, 2026 – While the Australian economy continues to show surprising resilience in the face of high interest rates, the latest Financy Women’s Index (FWX) reveals that women are paying a disproportionate price to maintain that stability.

The FWX, now in its ninth year of tracking economic equality, fell to 77.76 points in the December quarter—a sharp drop of 1.42 points since September and 0.24 points lower year-on-year. This decline was enough to wipe out progress gains made early in 2025, leaving the Index at its lowest point since December 2023.

 

The report’s findings suggest that as persistent inflation and high interest rates squeeze households, women have increasingly acted as the economy’s “pressure valve,” absorbing the impact through higher underemployment and a surge in unpaid labour.

“It is disappointing to see that the steadily improving trend in the Index has given way to a more volatile and constrained trend ever since the pandemic,” said Dr. Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP. "This indicates that women may be bearing a disproportionate share of the cost of the higher levels of economic uncertainty that we have been seeing since 2020,” he said. "The escalating war between the US, Israel and Iran will just continue the period of economic uncertainty."

Financial gender equality outcomes improved in just two of the seven areas measured by the FWX in 2025, Education and Superannuation.

However setbacks were recorded in Underemployment, Unpaid Work and ASX 200 Boards, while Gender Pay Gap and Employment stalled.

“The 2025 results signal a fragile state of progress which is particularly concerning given rising economic uncertainty,” said Bianca Hartge-Hazelman author of the FWX Report. “While we celebrate significant gains in Superannuation and Education this International Women’s Day, the widening gender gaps in Underemployment and Unpaid Work prove that gender equity progress is not yet cemented in foundations strong enough to withstand economic pressures,” she said.

With the labour market remaining tight, women have found it harder to secure their desired level of Employment, contributing to a widening of the underlying gender gap in the Underemployment Rate which has led to a sharp fall in the Underemployment sub-index, which ended 2.4 points lower in 2025.

The report highlights a growing Unpaid Work toll on women, particularly for those in the peak child-rearing demographic (ages 35–44) who saw their unpaid work increase more than it did for males in the 2025 reporting period (captured by 2024 HILDA data versus 2023).

The average woman with children in a coupled relationship spent an additional 2 hours more per week doing unpaid work compared to the year before, whilst the average man spent roughly 15 minutes more over the same weekly period.

In the corporate sector, progress on ASX 200 Boards hit a visible barrier, slipping to 37.6% in the December quarter, down from 38.4% in March 2025.

The report also highlights a standstill in the Gender Pay Gap, which finished 2025 unchanged as the underlying gap remained at a stubborn 11.5% based on Australian Bureau of Statistics average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults.

“We see the potential compounding impact of unpaid work and underemployment every day,” said Tim Henry financial planner at Aspire Planning. “When women are carrying more responsibility at home while struggling to access the hours they want at work, it can quietly trap them in a financial rut and can lead to lower income growth, savings and super,” he said.

Superannuation remained a standout performer in 2025, with the timeframe to close the gender gap in life-time retirement savings narrowing to 13.8 years based on the compounding effect of increasing female workforce participation combined with legislative increases to the Superannuation Guarantee. The median life-time balance for women is $54,300 compared to $68,600 according to the latest available data from the Australian Tax Office.

Education also provided hope for longer-term generational change; the projected wait for equality to be achieved in course selection and career earnings dropped significantly to 212.8 years as female student enrolments began to outpace male enrolment growth in high-earning fields like Information Technology, Engineering, Architecture and Building.

Updated Timeframes to Equality:

While historical trends continue to pull some timeframes closer, recent volatility has pushed others further out:

• ASX 200 Boards: 4.6 years 
• Superannuation: 13.8 years 
• Gender Pay Gap: 21.1 years 
• Underemployment: 22.4 years   
• Employment: 25.2 years 
• Unpaid Work: 47.3 years
• Education: 212.8 years 

About us:

The Financy Women’s Index TM (FWX) is a quarterly measurement of the economic progress of women and timeframes to gender equality in Australia. The FWX has been running since 2017 with over 36 reports produced by Financy, which is a workplace equity and communicatioins advisory firm. The Women’s Index is supported by an Advisory Committee which includes Dr Shane Oliver, Simone Cheung, Roger Wilkins, Leonora Risse, Bruce Hockman, Rhiannon Yetsenga and Nicki Hutley. The Index data analysis is also supported by Xin Deng of the University of South Australia’s Centre for Workplace Excellence (CWeX). The Index is proudly sponsored by NGS Super, Seven Consulting, Aspire Planning, PritchittBland Communications, HeirWealth. Creative Direction and Report Design by We Are Why.

Contact details:

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
Author Financy Women’s Index:

M: 0403 656 399

E: [email protected]