We're (finally) making moves: Australia just achieved its best gender equality ranking in history
Now in its 19th edition, the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index tracks countries against four key benchmarks: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Australia's 13th-place ranking marks our best performance since the report launched in 2006, and is a huge leap from our record-low 50th place in 2021.
Australia's rise in the rankings was largely driven by improvements in political empowerment, where we placed 19th overall – including 30th for the percentage of women in parliament and eighth for women in ministerial roles. We also came 32nd in economic participation and opportunity, with standout results in labour-force participation (21st) and the proportion of professional and technical workers (joint first), where the gender gap was just 9.78 per cent.
When it comes to education, Australia scored top marks – ranking joint first in literacy, primary education and university enrolment. However, our overall ranking of 79th in this category was dragged down by lower enrolment rates in secondary education. We also have progress to make in the health and survival category, with Australia slipping from 88th to 96th, driven by women facing a lower healthy life expectancy.
Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said, 'Whether it is investing in women's wages and economic opportunities, investing in sexual and reproductive healthcare, or investing in policies to address women's safety and tackling gender-based violence, our government is backing up words with action…However, we know there is always more work to do, and this report will help to inform our work on gender equality over the next three years.'
While not reflected in this year's report, the May election saw the first majority-women cabinet in Australian history and the highest proportion of women in government, including 56 per cent of Labor reps.
Iceland retained its top spot on the Global Gender Gap Index for the 16th year running, followed by Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. And while the global gender gap has narrowed to 68.8 per cent, the report estimates it will still take around 123 years to reach full equality.
These are the 15 best countries for gender equality
Iceland
Finland
Norway
United Kingdom
New Zealand
Sweden
Republic of Moldova
Namibia
Germany
Ireland
Estonia
Spain
Australia
Denmark
Barbados
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