Women are increasingly dominant across education and the workforce, but leadership, workplace structures and social attitudes have failed to keep pace.

Girls outperform boys in final school exams across all advanced economies, with maths differences a diminishing exception. In Australia women dominate university enrolments (58 per cent) and course completions (60.8 per cent); they outnumber men in health, education, engineering, agriculture and environment, society and culture, and the creative arts. More women are remaining in the workforce (there was a record female participation rate of 63.5 per cent in 2025), despite inadequate provision of childcare.

This trend is reshaping the economic landscape, both narrowing gender gaps and creating new challenges for male workforce participation.  The decline of traditional blue-collar, male-dominated jobs in manufacturing has meant economic growth has become more reliant on service industries, where women are dominant. The trend is reinforced by the needs of an ageing population requiring care and with the willing workers predominantly women. An AI revolution is pending: entry jobs for many professions along with low-level routine jobs could be decimated.

Women provide an equivalent pool of talent to men, yet they report quite different work experiences. In male-dominated fields, they feel isolated at work and can be passed over for special assignments and promotions. Young women rarely see themselves reflected in leadership or technical roles. CEOs, surgeons, engineers, financiers and construction managers are still overwhelmingly male. “You cannot be what you cannot see”, said Susan Coyle on her recent appointment as Army Chief. Breaking the cycle starts with showing girls they can belong in these spaces. Employers can help by recognising the potential of their female workers at an early career stage.

A world where women dominated could see profound shifts in corporate culture, political priorities and daily life. They would prioritise collaboration, long-term sustainability and social wellbeing. Studies have shown that female-led teams and organisations often experience less violence and bullying, more dialogue and communication, though they may also lead to new forms of workplace power dynamics and social imbalances.

With more women in leadership, there would likely be a push for better childcare, flexible working hours and stronger parental leave policies. Crucial to such change will be family-related paid leave – Sweden has mandated that half available parental leave must be taken by men; re-education of human resource managers; and a shift in general workplace culture to respect female staff members and encourage upward mobility.

At a major bank Don Edgar advised in the 1990s, a senior woman who, despite managerial resistance, worked from home after the birth of her first child still brought in more investment income than her male peers. In the end, the measure of performance was what mattered.

Also in the ’90s, building firm Lend Lease found that providing a childcare centre in their office headquarters (for both employees and outside community members) improved job satisfaction and productivity. Recognising the realities of social change and adapting to them trumps outmoded prejudices and gender-based assumptions.

Only 32.5 per cent of women are in key management roles; 19 per cent of CEOs are women and 33 per cent board members. Despite their lower numbers and the tenacity required to make it to the top, women are demonstrating they have the skills to manage complex jobs. Recent reports from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency show that companies with more women in key decision-making roles often see better financial performance, higher profitability and better crisis management than companies led by men. Research from the  Macquarie Business School suggests female leaders often nurture employees better, creating better reward systems and higher employee engagement.

Even though the gender pay gap persists across the board, a ten-percentage point increase in women in key leadership roles has led to a 6.6 per cent increase in the market value of Australian-listed companies, worth over $100 million. Companies with a female CEO have shown a 5 per cent higher market value.

As of early 2024, only about 10.4 per cent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Globally, female CEOs represent just over 5 per cent of all CEOs, with Norway having the highest at 13.4 per cent. Recent reports show that in some regions, including on the Australian stock exchange, the number of female CEOs has stagnated (from 26 in 2023 to 25 in 2024). Women frequently encounter a ‘broken rung’ on the corporate ladder, making it harder to reach managerial and, consequently, CEO positions.

Given much of the future workforce will be female, there will be a growing demand for equal opportunities and more flexible workplace arrangements to improve the work-life balance. Recruitment firms will have to review tactics to bring in the best talent from the overall pool of human capital. Even those women who remain single and do not have children will have caring responsibilities for ageing parents. Aged care policies and programs will need to reward firms that assist.

Based on current trends and ideological patterns observed, the emergence of a workforce dominated by women is triggering a severe, reactionary backlash from the manosphere, with narratives of male victimhood, intense misogyny and disengagement from professional or social structures. Women’s economic empowerment is considered a direct loss for men.  The manosphere thrives on a ’natural hierarchy’ where men should be at the top. The reaction is not a resignation to new trends but an aggressive push to re-establish traditional patriarchal power.

While the rise of women in the workforce is a marker of progress toward equality, it also demands new social strategies to ensure the engagement of all workers across industry. There is an urgent need to support men who want to break into female-dominated industries. In health care and social welfare, women now make up 79 per cent of employees.  At just 2.7 per cent of the workforce, men in early childhood education are an endangered species.

Attitudes are changing. Seventeen per cent of men have become the ‘primary carer’ of children (up from 12 per cent in 2022). They are eligible for 24 weeks paid leave at the minimum wage rate, plus one year on unpaid leave if wanted. It is not clear if well-educated professional men are particularly involved in this trend.

With so much upheaval in the national and global economy, the turmoil in immigration, the growing need for carers in the childcare, health, disability and aged care sector, it is imperative we utilise human capital regardless of sex and outmoded assumptions about the role of women.

As Mamma Cass used to sing:

“There’s a new world coming, And it’s just around the bend.”