As the Minister for Finance, Women and the Public Service, I am pleased to present the Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Annual Report 2022‑2023 – which confirms the highest representation of women on record at 51.6 per cent of positions.
The Office for Women first investigated the gender balance of Australian Government boards in 2009 – at that time women made up just 33.41 per cent of positions.
We have made great progress, but there is still more to be done.
Women hold only 42.3 per cent of Chair and Deputy Chair positions. At this rate, without targeted action, it could take at least six years to achieve gender balance in these positions.
For the first time since reporting began, we have an understanding of gender balance at the individual board level. We now know that over 20 per cent of Australian Government boards have less than 40 per cent representation of women.
It is essential that our Government boards and advisory bodies reflect the diversity of the Australian community. This means ensuring that First Nations people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people with disability are also represented in decision making and advisory spaces.
Our Government is committed to leading the way on gender equality on boards because we know that ultimately, better representation leads to better outcomes for everyone.
Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher
Minister for Finance, Minister for Women and Minister for the Public Service
References
- Women on Australian Government Boards Report 2008-2009, Trove, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2457588855/view Return to footnote 1 ↩