When we think of “segregation,” what often comes to mind are racial divides in 1960s America or apartheid South Africa. But another form of segregation still thrives in our societies today: gender segregation. Here’s what it looks like, and what we’re doing to challenge it. 

In a whole range of Australian workplaces job roles are divided along gender lines; “the girls in the office”, “the boys on site”. Sometimes entire industries are dominated by one gender, where elsewhere the industry is balanced but job roles – or classifications – are segregated.  

That imbalance isn’t accidental. It’s systemic and structural. It’s called gender segregation.

What is gender segregation? 

➤ Invisible barriers: jobs still divided by gender 

In many industries, women and men are kept apart. Not by policy, but by expectations. This is known as horizontal segregation: when women and men are unevenly represented across sectors or job types, regardless of skills or education. 

In healthcare, 78% of workers are women (Department of health, 2021). 
In mining? Just 26%. 

This isn’t about personal preference, it’s about how society attaches gender to certain jobs. It is a structural issue.

➤ The ‘glass ceiling’: same work, fewer promotions

Even in sectors where women and men work side by side, leadership remains out of reach for many women. That’s vertical segregation: women do the job, but men get promoted. 

*WGEA, 2024 

Why are these gaps so wide?  

 
While workforces everywhere are somewhat segregated by gender, Australia has one of the most gender segregated workforces in the world.  

The majority of Australian employees continue to work in industries dominated by one gender. 

And while some industries have been slower than others to introduce working conditions that attract female talent, gender segregation often doesn’t begin at work. It begins much earlier.

It’s shaped by how we raise children, what careers they’re encouraged to pursue, and how they’re treated once they enter the workforce. 

  👉 How children are raised 

From a young age, children receive messages about who they should be and what roles they’re expected to play: 

   ➡ Girls are encouraged to care, listen, and accommodate. 
   It’s no coincidence they often end up in care-related jobs. 

   ➡ Boys are pushed to lead, perform, and stay tough. This early social conditioning narrows ambitions, long before any CV is written. 

👉 How workplace culture keeps it going 

In male-dominated industries, women face persistent exclusion. 
Old boys’ clubs, unspoken rules, and leadership models built by men, for men, still shape how success is defined. 

At the same time, women continue to take on most caregiving responsibilities at home. But workplaces rarely reflect this reality: rigid schedules and lack of flexibility make it harder for women to stay, grow,  or lead. 

The negative impact of gender segregation

The effects of gender segregation aren’t just individual, they shape entire industries.

 👉 The Gender Pay Gap

Gendered expectations and beliefs affect the remuneration levels in certain industries: in general, “women’s jobs” have been considered less valuable than men’s jobs. For many years this was enshrined in law – informed by a belief that while male workers had to support a family, women workers did not. 

But while equal work is now supposed to receive equal pay, industries traditionally dominated by women –such as education, social work and healthcare - continue to be under - recognised and rewarded. 

👉 Unequal caring expectations

Male-dominated industries also suffer from gender segregation. Without significant numbers of women workers leading the charge for family-friendly working conditions, male-dominated industries tend to lag behind in flexibility.  

👉 Gender-Based Violence 

Male-dominated workplaces are also less safe for workers, with some employers weaponising gendered expectations to push workers into unsafe behaviours.  

In male-dominated workplaces and other lacking in diversity, the risk of gender-based violence and harassment also increases. Women face sexist cultures, isolation, and sometimes sexual assault and often silenced by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that prevent them from speaking out. This impacts mental health and pushes women to leave their jobs altogether. 

Stopping work-related gender-based violence