Victoria: The Place To Be

DPCD

Home > Women in Victoria > Facts and figures

• Print this page
• Make text size default
• Make text size large

Facts and Figures

Key Facts About Victorian Women

• Females comprise slightly more than half (50.9 per cent) of the State population.
• 15,396 Indigenous women reside in Victoria, representing 0.6 per cent of Victorian women.
• 23.8 per cent of Victorian women were born overseas, and 74.5 per cent of Victorian women speak only English at home.
• The top five countries of birth for Victorian women born overseas are the United Kingdom, Italy, New Zealand, Vietnam and China.

Women and Families

• There are an estimated 1,475,000 families in Victoria, and of these, 679,900 or 46.1 per cent have dependant children.
• 19 per cent of families with dependant children are one-parent families. Of these, 87 per cent have a female as head of the family.

Representation and Equity

• 30 per cent of the Legislative Council, 31 per cent of the Legislative Assembly, and 25 per cent of Cabinet Ministers in Victoria are women.
• In Victoria women comprise 25 per cent of mayors, and 29.8 per cent of local government councillors.
• Women hold 8.3 per cent of board directorships in the top 200 Australian companies.

Education, Work and Economic Independence

• Women comprise 55.1 per cent of Victorians with Bachelor degrees, and 42.7 per cent of Victorians with postgraduate degrees.
• 57.7 per cent of Victorian women over the age of 15 participate in the labour force.
• The pay gap between women and men in Victoria is 15.1 per cent.

Health, Wellbeing and Community Strengthening

• 19 per cent of Victorian women have some form of disability.
• 79 per cent of Victorian women participate in sport and physical activity.
• 36 per cent of Victorian women undertake regular volunteer work.

Justice and Safety

• 36.2 per cent of women over 15 will experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetimes.
• Women (16.6 per cent) are significantly more likely to be victims of sexual assault compared to men (5 per cent).

These facts will be updated by the Office of Women’s Policy as new information becomes available.

Top