Women in Australia should celebrate how far they've come since the early colonial years, Lucy Turnbull says.
The prime minister's wife, speaking at a Women in Business breakfast at the ASEAN special summit in Sydney, recalled the days when most people came to the country involuntarily as convicts from the UK.
"Women could be sent to the infamous female factory at Parramatta for not washing their husband's linen or making them breakfast," she said to laughs on Friday.
"I think we have to celebrate how far we've come, but at the same time we recognise that there's a bit more distance to travel."
Ms Turnbull - who co-hosted the event with Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore's prime minister and chief executive of wealth fund Temasek - noted the "stronger focus" in Australia and the region on increasing the representation of women in every sector of society and the economy.
Female participation in Australia was at record highs, she said, with 60 per cent of new jobs created in the last year going to women.
Similar increases were recorded among indigenous women.
"The gender pay gap is still there but it's shrinking," Ms Turnbull said.
"It's around 15 per cent now, and we've got to make sure it gets to zero."
The former Sydney Lord Mayor and Greater Sydney Commissioner said girls must be armed with the technology skills and confidence to engage in the "fast-changing, digitising and scientific world".
Ms Ho, chief executive of Singapore wealth fund Temasek, made special note of Sydney's indigenous community - the Gadigal people - during her brief remarks about responsible business.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Turnbull cabinet minister Michaelia Cash were also at the event.
Australia is not a formal member of ASEAN but takes part in the biennial leaders' summit.
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