Australian women are leaving management and other highly paid roles because domestic responsibilities continue to fall disproportionately on them, the head of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has warned.
Christine Castley, chief executive of the Australian regulator, said women were entering management at similar rates to men but were less likely to remain in senior positions, particularly in male-dominated industries where flexible and part-time working arrangements were limited.
Her comments come as the agency marks the 40th anniversary of the legislation that established its predecessor. The anniversary event is being hosted at Government House by Australia’s Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, and will bring together figures from government, business and the gender equality sector. ([wgea.gov.au](https://www.wgea.gov.au/newsroom/ceo-update-september-2026?utm_source=openai))
Although about two-thirds of Australian women now work outside the home, Ms Castley said employers were still failing to retain enough women in the best-paid jobs. Women remain far more likely than men to reduce their hours or move into part-time work to manage caring responsibilities, while most management positions are designed as full-time roles.
“That choice is usually falling on women, particularly when it comes to family responsibilities,” she said.
Recent WGEA analysis found that only 7 per cent of management roles were part-time. The agency said men were more likely to remain in full-time management positions throughout their working lives, while women’s participation in part-time management rose during the years when many were caring for children. ([wgea.gov.au](https://www.wgea.gov.au/Publications/Ages-and-Wages-2025?utm_source=openai))
Ms Castley said employers could improve retention by normalising flexible working for both sexes and encouraging men to take paid parental leave. Such measures, she argued, would help prevent caring from being treated as a women’s issue and make it easier for mothers to progress into senior roles.
Laing O’Rourke, the international engineering and construction group, will take part in the anniversary event after introducing six months of fully paid parental leave for every parent in July 2022. The company says the policy applies equally to employees who adopt or welcome a child through surrogacy. ([laingorourke.com](https://www.laingorourke.com/company/sustainability/for-our-people-australia/?utm_source=openai))
Women accounted for 14 per cent of the highest-paid employees in Laing O’Rourke’s construction arm in the 2024-25 financial year, compared with fewer than 10 per cent across the construction industry. They made up 30 per cent of the company’s construction workforce, against an industry average of 21 per cent.
“This is about how we make workplaces function for people to have better lives at home and work, and that means both men and women,” Ms Castley said.
WGEA’s latest progress report shows women now represent 42 per cent of managers across Australian workplaces, up from 36 per cent, although the agency said entrenched occupational segregation and unequal caring responsibilities continued to limit progress into the most senior and highly paid roles. ([wgea.gov.au](https://www.wgea.gov.au/newsroom/Progress_report_media_release_2025?utm_source=openai))
