Australia’s progress on gender equality will be tracked in a new annual ‘Report Card’, launched to coincide with International Women’s Day.

The very first Status of Women Report Card, released on Wednesday, showed women and girls still facing unique challenges in Australia.

As well as twice as many women experiencing sexual harassment as men, women over 55 are the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness.

Women also still do the lion’s share of unpaid housework, even if they are the primary breadwinner – at 24.1 hours compared to 19.1 hours.

These factors contribute to Australia being ranked 43rd in the world for gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum.

Making the challenge even greater, 30 per cent of Australian men don’t believe that gender inequality exists, which is more than the global average of 21 per cent.

Women’s minister Katy Gallagher says the Albanese government is committed to making gender equality a national priority.

“The reality is, while we are making some gains on gender equality, we are not there yet and, in some aspects of women’s lives, progress has stalled,” Senator Gallagher said.

“Shining a light on these statistics may be confronting but it is crucial if we are to have an honest conversation about gender equality in this country.”

A vast collection of data contained in the report helps paint a picture of what life looks like for women in Australia, including that over a quarter were born overseas and close to 18 per cent identify as having a disability.

A national strategy will be released by the government in the second half of this year to guide “whole of community” action.

– AAP