Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher

For the fourth consecutive year, the Australian Government has improved women’s representation on Australian Government boards.

The newly released Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Annual Report 2024–25 tracks the Government’s performance against four key targets.

Progress has been made in all four areas which has improved women’s representation on boards across the public sector.

Over the past 15 years, since reporting began in 2009, women’s representation has increased by over 20%.

Targets for women on Australian Government boards overall continue to be exceeded, with women holding 54.3% of all positions in 2024–25.

At the individual board level, 83.8% of Australian Government boards now meet the target of at least 40% women holding positions, a 5.4% increase since last year.

Two new targets for boards at the portfolio level were introduced in 2024 as part of Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality.

The Australian Government has delivered improvements in both areas.

In 2024-25, 70.6% of portfolio level boards now have at least 50% women holding positions. More Women also hold Chair and Deputy Chair positions with 52.9% of portfolio level boards meeting the target for women to hold 50% of these positions.

Achieving all four targets across the public sector will take time. The Australian Government is committed to reform that supports gender balance and women in leadership.

Initiatives like the new Australian Government Appointments Framework and public sector reporting by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) will help targets to be met sooner.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher:

“Having more women in key decision-making roles is essential to the broader gender equality ambitions under Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality.

“For the fourth consecutive year we have met the target for women to hold 50% of positions on all Australian Government boards, but there’s still more work to do.

“We need more women, including First Nations women and women from diverse backgrounds, at the table across all Australian Government portfolios to ensure systems, policies, services, technology and infrastructure meet the needs of Australian women.

“We will continue to lead by example to progress gender equality through ambition, effort and accountability.”