Jobs and Skills Australia has released the second paper in the three-part series on Gender Economic Equality.
Paper 2, Education and training divides - Gendered skills, pathways and outcomes, provides insights on education and training divides. It shows that gendered patterns in education and training remain deeply entrenched, with little sign of change that could shift Australia’s occupational gender segregation.
Key insights include:
- Only 1 in 5 fields of education have a similar number of men and women completing programs and graduating studies, mirroring recent analysis around workforce gender segregation.
- Gender segregation in education and training make future shifts in occupational segregation unlikely.
- Men generally achieve stronger economic outcomes than women across most qualifications, including female dominated fields.
- Women earn less than men and are more likely to leave the workforce, despite equal or higher qualifications.
- Women are more often employed below their skill level, leaving their qualifications underused.
- Social and cultural norms continue to shape study choices, career pathways and long-term outcomes.
For many more insights, download the full report and explore the Intersectional VET outcomes dashboards across the top 100 VET qualifications. You can see outcomes by gender, cohort (First Nations, CALD and people with disability) as well as outcomes by gender across the life course for different age groups.