Women’s Economic Security Statement

In November 2018, the Australian Government released the inaugural Women’s Economic Security Statement. The statement focused on three pillars: increasing women’s workforce participation, supporting women’s economic independence, and supporting women’s earning potential. It announced new measures to continue delivering on Towards 2025, the Australian Government’s strategy, released in July 2017, to increase women’s workforce participation.

The department is leading Career Revive, an initiative announced in the Women’s Economic Security Statement to increase women’s workforce participation. Career Revive aims to prepare regional employers to attract and retain women returning to work after a career break.

Women on government boards

There was an increase in the number of women appointed to government boards in the Jobs and Small Business portfolio as at 31 December 2018. The portfolio had seven boards, on which 58.9 per cent of reportable positions were held by women. This was an increase of 4.8 percentage points since 30 June 2018, when women held 54.1 per cent of reportable positions in the portfolio.