Gender inequality is holding Australia back. Despite significant progress, substantial inequalities persist - in pay, unpaid care, leadership representation, and gender-based violence. Current approaches to addressing these inequalities are hampered by measures that are not fit for purpose: too broad, insufficiently granular, and unable to capture the systemic or intersectional nature of gender inequality in the Australian context.
To address this, we previously developed the Australian Gender Equality Index (AGEI) - a multidimensional, area-level measure of structural gender equality built from linked ABS Census data, capturing gender gaps across multiple dimensions that correspond to actionable government policy levers. This project applies the AGEI at scale, linking it to major longitudinal datasets including HILDA, ALSWH, LSAC and Ten to Men across four workstreams: mapping the geographic patterning of gender inequality across Australia and for key intersectional groups; quantifying associations between gender inequality and social, economic and health outcomes; examining relationships between the AGEI and other dimensions of gender inequality such as violence against women; and using different methods to identify the policies with the greatest potential to advance gender equality.
Expected outcomes include new knowledge about how gender inequality is spatially distributed across Australia, how it shapes social, economic and health outcomes for people of all genders, and which policy levers are most effective in driving change. Expected benefits include improved tools for government, advocates and service providers, and ultimately a safer, more equitable and inclusive Australia.
