O'Loughlin, Mary Ann creator text xu| 2014 continuing ng p.373-382. The COAG Reform Council has played a critical role in tracking progress, nationally and on a state-by-state basis, against the COAG reform agenda. The council has analysed and publicly reported on government's performance against outcomes, performance indicators and targets agreed by COAG. However, until 2013 gender analysis was not directly incorporated in the assessment of government's performance. The council's first report on gender, Tracking equity: Comparing outcomes for women and girls across Australia, redressed this omission. This article explores how taking account of gender greatly enriches our understanding of governments performance in critical areas, and enhances public accountability as a result . An understanding of gender differences also provides a better basis for government decision-making on ways to improve outcomes. - Reproduced. Women - Australia Women Australian Journal of Public Administration 180718