Editing History of Australia (section)

====Women====
[[File:Faces of Australia 22 (5426414793).jpg|thumb|A female police officer in 2008]]

Holmes and Pinto point out that in 1960 domesticity and motherhood were still the dominant conceptions of femininity. In 1961, women made up only 25 per cent of employed adults and twice as many women described their occupation as "home duties" compared with those in paid employment. The fertility rate fell from a post-war high of 3.5 to less than 2 in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Holmes-2016">Holmes, Katie; Pinto, Sarah (2016). "Gender and sexuality". ''The Cambridge History of Australia, volume 2''. pp.324–28.</ref><ref>''Census of the Commonwealth 30 June 1961, Census Bulletin No. 21''. Canberra: Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. 1962. Table 9: Occupational Status</ref>

The reforming drive of the 1960s and the increasing influence of the women's movement led to a series of legislative and institutional changes. These included the abolition of the "marriage bar" in the Australian public service in 1966, the Arbitration Commission's equal pay decisions of 1969 and 1972, the introduction of paid maternity leave in the Australian public service in 1973, and the enactment of the federal [[Sex Discrimination Act 1984|Sex Discrimination Act]] in 1984 and the Affirmative Action Act of 1986.<ref>Holmes, Katie; Pinto, Sarah (2016). "Gender and sexuality". ''The Cambridge History of Australia, volume 2''. p 324</ref>

Single mothers' benefits were introduced in 1973 and [[Family Law Act 1975|the Family Law Act 1975]] bought in no-fault divorce. From the 1980s there was an increase in government funding of women's refuges, health centres, rape crisis centres and information services.<ref name="Holmes-2016" /> The Australian government began funding child care with the Child Care Act of 1972, although state, territory and local government were still the main providers of funding. In 1984, the Australian government introduced standardised fee relief for child care, and funding was greatly expanded in 1990 by the decision to extend fee relief to commercial child care centres.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McIntosh|first=Greg|date=1998|title=Childcare in Australia: current provision and recent developments|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/Background_Papers/bp9798/98bp09#:~:text=The%20Commonwealth%20Government%20first%20became,of%20working%20and%20sick%20parents.live|access-date=26 April 2021|website=Parliament of Australia, Parliamentary Library}}</ref>

According to Holmes and Pinto, reliable birth control, increased employment opportunities, and improved family welfare and childcare provision increased opportunities for women outside motherhood and domesticity.<ref name="Holmes-2016" /> In 2019–20, women were more likely than men to hold a bachelor's degree or higher qualification. 68 per cent of women aged 20–74 years old participated in the labour force, compared with 78 per cent of men. However, 43 per cent of employed women were working part-time, compared with 16 per cent of men, and the average earnings of women working full-time was 14 per cent below that of men.<ref name="ABS-2020">{{Cite web|date=16 December 2020|title=Gender Indicators, Australia|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/gender-indicators-australia/latest-release|access-date=26 April 2021|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref>

In the five-to-ten years to 2020, the number of women in private sector leadership roles, female federal Justices and Judges, and federal parliamentarians have all increased gradually.<ref name="ABS-2020" /> However, between 1999 and 2021, Australia has fallen from ninth to 50th in the [[International Parliamentary Union|Inter-Parliamentary Union]]'s ranking of countries by women's representation in national parliaments.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rachel Nolan and James Pawluk|date=3 March 2021|title=More women will fix Parliament's 'culture' problem. Here's how to do it|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/more-women-will-fix-parliament-s-culture-problem-here-s-how-to-do-it-20210303-p577ez.html|access-date=26 April 2021|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>