NSW Women's Strategy 2026 Report Card

This 2026 report card measures the progress of the NSW Government on gender equality in line with the NSW Women’s Strategy 2023 - 2026 Outcomes and Evaluation Framework.

NSW Women's Strategy 2026 Report CardNSW Women's Strategy 2026 Report Card page 2
NSW Women's Strategy 2026 Report Card PDF 395.94KB File last updated on: 25 August 2026.

Case Studies - Impact Across NSW

 

The selected case studies highlight the NSW Government's strong commitment to advancing gender equality by supporting initiatives that directly empower women and girls across our state. These efforts promote equal access to resources, opportunities, and connection across a variety of sectors and industries, and are informed by the 3 Pillars of the NSW Women’s Strategy. These Case Studies exemplify how the Government can positively improve the lives of women and girls and drive towards gender equality. 

Pillar 1: Economic opportunity and advancement

Long-term outcomes: Women and girls have equal access to work, economic opportunities, and financial security and wellbeing throughout their life stages. 

anzac day march ranks to recognition

TAFE NSW: Ranks to Recognition

The program offers personalised career advice, counselling, skills assessment, recognition of prior learning (RPL), and training gap analysis to ensure veterans’ capabilities are formally recognised and effectively transferred into civilian careers.

woman on stage standing in front of a presentation screen discussing women owned business in Australia

Entrepreneurial & Small Business Women Australia (ESBWA) – Supporting Women-Owned Businesses

This program supports the success of women-owned businesses through government contracts, certification and a one-stop shop for advice.

aboriginal carers facs two women

Department of Communities and Justice and Regional Enterprise and Development Institute: Aboriginal Carers Investment Grant Program

The program provides culturally appropriate training and support to benefit unpaid Aboriginal carers in Western NSW through the Carers Investment Grant Program 2025-2027.

Outcome indicators

Increase in women’s labour force participation in NSW
  • The labour force participation rate for women aged 15 years and over in NSW is 61.8%. This is lower than men, at 69.4% (2025).1 
     
Increase in gender equality in taking leave to care for others in NSW
  • Among those employed in the NSW Government sector who take paid parental leave, men take an average of 36 days of paid parental leave in a calendar year, compared to 44 days for women (2025).2
  • For those in NSW who report taking paid parental leave in last 12 months, 60% are women and 40% are men (2023).3
  • 29.3% of women who want to work are not actively looking for work due to childcare, compared with 3.9% of men (2025).4 
Decrease in gender segregation in the NSW workforce
  • Occupational segregation means whether there is a larger-than-expected presence of one gender over another in a given field of occupation. NSW is currently at a moderate level (0.387) according to The Duncan Segregation Index, which is based on a scale of zero to one (2025).5
  • The proportion of female employees in the top 4 male-dominated industry groups (mining; construction; electricity, gas, water and waste services; and transport, postal and warehousing) is 16.1%, compared with 83.9% for male employees, or approximately one in every five employees (2025).6 
Decrease in the gender pay gap in NSW
  • The gender pay gap in NSW is 10.6% (2026) or $12,191 less per year compared with men (2026).7
  • In the NSW public sector, the gender pay gap is at 7.3%. On average, a woman working in the NSW public sector earns $8,069 per year less than a man (2025).8 
Increase in women’s personal financial wellbeing in NSW
  • The self-reported median total personal income of women aged 15 years and over in NSW is $48,112. This is lower than men’s self-reported median income of $67,827 and equates to a median difference of $19,715 (2023).9 
References

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force, Australia, November 2025.

2 NSW Premier’s Department, Workforce Profile Report, 2025.

3 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, 2023.

4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Potential Workers, February 2025.

5 According to the Duncan Segregation Index. Source: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, November 2025.

The Duncan Segregation Index measures the segregation in a field, for example, field of occupation or industry. Values can range from 0, which represents no segregation, to 1, which represents complete segregation. Lower values indicate lower segregation.

6 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force, Australia, November 2025.

7 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, November May 2026.

The gender pay gap in NSW is the difference in the average weekly ordinary full-time earnings of women and men in the workforce, expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings.

8 NSW Premier’s Department, Workforce Profile Report, 2025.

9 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, 2023.

Pillar 2: Health and wellbeing

Long-term outcomes: Women and girls are safe in their relationships and communities and have access to services and support that meets their needs.

Youth Justice Incarcerated ATSI

Youth Justice NSW: Incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women and Girls

Youth Justice provides access to a number of culturally led programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls.

safer cities transport nsw

Transport NSW: Safer Cities

The Program aims to help improve perceptions of safety in cities and towns across NSW, especially for women, girls and gender diverse people.  

rainbow screening clinic nsw health

NSW Health: LGBTIQA+ Rainbow Screening Clinic

The Clinic was established by Northern Sydney Local Health District in partnership with BreastScreen NSW Northern Sydney Central Coast to address persistent inequities in breast/chest screening for LGBTIQ+ people with breast/chest tissue. 

Outcome indicators

Increase in actual and perceived safety for women in NSW
  • The rate (per 100,000 population) of female victims of violent offences recorded by the NSW Police Force is 1,370.17 (2024/2025).10
  • 78.6% of women in NSW are very satisfied that they feel safe, compared with 80.2% of men (2023).11 
Increase in safe and stable housing for women in NSW
  • Approximately 20.3% of women who were homeless at the beginning of the financial year were no longer homeless by the end of that same year after receiving assistance from specialist homelessness services (2025).12 
Increase in women’s life satisfaction in NSW
  • 68.4% of women in NSW report feeling very satisfied with their lives. This is similar to men, at 68.2% (2023).13 
References

10 NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), 2024/2025.

11 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, 2023.

12 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Specialist Homelessness Services Collection data cubes, 2025.

13 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, 2023.

Pillar 3: Participating and empowerment

Long-term outcomes: Women and girls experience equal status with men and boys, are recognised for their leadership, and valued and respected for their diversity.  

3 credit tcs sydney marathon presented by asics

Office of Sport: Run My Way

The initiative aims to increase women’s, girls’ and gender diverse people’s active and meaningful participation in running by creating safer, more inclusive environments across NSW.

SECNA women business for good lunch

Women NSW: Women in Social Enterprise

The project is delivering a networking program, connecting and supporting women in social enterprise, including women with disability and women from culturally and racially marginalised communities.

Increasing number of Women elected to Local Government

Office of Local Government: Increasing number of Women elected to Local Government

In advance of the 2024 local government elections the Office of Local Government undertook initiatives to increase the number of women elected to local government.  

Outcome indicators

Decrease in gender segregation in NSW education
  • Women account for only 7.9%, completed apprenticeships or traineeships in ‘non-traditional’ fields (IT, engineering, agriculture, and architecture) in NSW (2023).14
  • 58.3% of HSC awardees girls in NSW are enrolled in 2 or more STEM subjects, compared to 68.7% of boys (2024).15
Increase in completion of education and training by girls and women in NSW
  • Women make up over 38% of people completing apprenticeships/traineeships (2025).16
  • Less than half of people from diverse backgrounds in NSW who complete an apprenticeship or traineeship are women (2025)16
    • 45.8% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,
    • 46.3% of people with disability,
    • 37.8% of people living outside major cities,
    • 45.3% of people with a first language other than English.
  • Girls complete Year 12 at a higher rate than boys (77.0% compared to 66.8%).17
  • Completion rates for Year 12 are greater for girls from a high socioeconomic background (84.6%) than from a low socioeconomic background (60.6%).17
  • Year 12 completion rates for girls living in inner regional areas (65.6%) and outer regional or remote areas (55.8%) are lower than those of girls in major cities (80.4%) in NSW (2024).17
Increase in women in senior leadership in NSW
  • 45% of directors on the boards of NSW State Owned Corporations and Public Financial Corporations are women. This is below the NSW Government’s gender diversity target of 50% (2024).18
  • In the NSW public sector, percentage of Senior Executive roles or equivalent grades is 45% (2025).19
  • In the NSW workforce, 43.3% of managers are women (2025).20
Increase in women’s social connectedness in NSW
  • 48.4% of women in NSW feel very satisfied that they are part of their local community. This is similar to reports by men (48.2%) and shows that for many in NSW, social connectedness can be improved (2023).21
  • Women in NSW tend to agree that they have social support in their lives (average agreement of 5.4 points on a scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Men show a similar level of agreement (5.3) (2023).21
  • 49.1% of women in NSW gather socially with friends or family at least once a week, compared to only 47.3% of men (2023).21
References

14 National Centre for Vocational Education Research, VOCSTATS, 2023

15 NSW Education Standards Authority, ABS Regional population
Reference period 30 June 2024

16 National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2025

17 NSW Education Standards Authority, ABS Regional population
Reference period 30 June 2024

18 NSW Treasury Board Appointments, 2024

19 NSW Premier’s Department, Workforce Profile Report, 2025

20 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force, Australia, November 2025

21 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, 2023

Data reference period primarily relevant up do December 2025

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