Over the past decade, women's median superannuation balance at, or approaching, preservation age has increased at a faster rate than men, but a significant gap remains according to the 2019 Gender Indicators publication released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Gender Indicators in Australia is a resource for social analysis and research in gender equality.
In 2017–18, the median superannuation balance at, or approaching, preservation age (55-64 years) was $119,000 for women and $183,000 for men.
For parents with a dependant child aged 0-5 years, only 64% of women participated in the labour force, compared with 95% of men.
ABS Director of Household Characteristics and Social Reporting, Emily Walter, said this release showed some mixed outcomes for men and women.
“For example, while more women than men are enrolled in tertiary degree courses and more women have attained a Bachelor degree or above, for graduates of most fields of study females are paid less than their male counterparts,” she said
“And while most senior leadership roles in the private sector were occupied by men (82.9 per cent), for the first time the number of women in executive level positions in the public service surpassed men (51.2 per cent and 48.8 per cent respectively).”
Lone parents with children are more likely than other parents to live in low economic resource households. In 2017-18, around half of lone mothers with children (46%) and more than a quarter of lone fathers with children (27%) were living in low economic resource households.
On the other hand, young women are entering the housing market at higher rates than young men.
“The data shows that 24 per cent of younger women owned their home with a mortgage in 2017-18, compared to 18 per cent of men aged 15 to 34 years.”
