But when you look at a rich list — and the still too small number of women who make such rich lists — the gap becomes mind-bogglingly large.
Just nine women make the 2017 Young Rich List, which identifies the country’s wealthiest self-made citizens who’re still under 40.
While the number of women on this year’s list is still up from eight in 2016, we’ve got a long way to go before hitting gender parity on the country’s richest individuals — especially given the youth aspect of this list (you need to be under 40) indicates the ‘pipeline’ for the full rich list is still nowhere near female dominated.
Still, the women who make the 2017 Young Rich List are doing very, very well for themselves. They’re innovative and game-changing. Some are also particularly healthy and athletic.
Envato co-founder Cyan Ta’eed tops the list of women to make the cut. She’s in the ninth spot overall, with an estimated wealth of $216 million.
Ta’eed’s followed by another woman in tech, Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins, in the 17th spot with an estimated wealth of $128 million.
Erica Baxter rounds off the top three women, in the 30th spot with $79 million.
The millions these women reportedly have are hard to imagine, but it’s a small amount of wealth compared to the $6.08 billion combined wealth of the two Atlassian co-founders at the top of the list, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar.
Other women on the list include fitness entrepreneur Kayla Itsines (pictured) in the 40th spot with an estimated wealth of $63 million. She’s had a good year. At just 25, she’s risen up 11 spots on the young rich list in 12 months.
Itsines is followed by actress Miranda Kerr (estimated wealth $44 million), then rising global fitness and health star Emily Skye ($32 million).
Skye is a new entrant on the list. A former model, she sells fitness programs via apps and video tutorials, and has more than 10 million followers on Facebook and 2.1 million on Instagram. She started in 2011 with a Blogspot page, where she’d share workout tips and fitness competition results.
Also on the list is Jane Lu, the founder and ‘chief pony’ at ShowPo, worth $32 million and in the 82nd spot. Jane started the online fashion retailer after leaving an accounting job, and currently refers to herself on Instagram as the ‘Lazy CEO’. She’s just returned from six weeks vacation when she speaks with the AFR about making the young rich list for the first time, and describes the business as a “huge lifestyle choice” for herself and those who want to work there.
Then there is Julie Stevanja, in the 87th spot, with an estimated wealth of $30 million. She started StyleRunner in 2012 with her twin sister, who exited the business in 2015.
If you’re considering how to crack the young rich list next year, consider this: 38 of the 100 young listers are in technology, followed by 12 in financial services and 9 in property.
Although for women, there’s a definite trend for building businesses in the health, fitness and beauty sectors.
The full list is in tomorrow’s Australian Financial Review.