Australia has seen an acceleration in women’s board representation and gains in employment, according to the latest Financy Women’s Index (FWX), which has today unveiled a suite of proposed reforms for Labor to hardwire gender equity into the nation’s economic and social fabric.
Signalling progress towards financial gender equality, the FWX rose to 77.9 points in the March quarter, which is an increase from 77.53 points in December 2024.
The biggest driver of this progress was the number of women appointed to ASX 200 boards, which increased by two per cent in the March quarter to become 38.4 per cent. This increase drove the FWX ASX 200 Leadership sub-index to 76.8 points.
Gender equality on ASX 200 boards is now projected to be 4.9 years away, which is an improvement from 5.3 years a year ago.
“These results show that Australia is on track to reach equality on ASX 200 boards by 2030- a historic milestone for gender equality as one of the first widely campaigned and actioned areas closes in on parity,” said Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, Founder of Financy.
Looking at the ASX 300, there is now 37 per cent board representation, which is almost double the number from a decade ago. The number of women in the Australian Parliament has also nearly doubled since 2002.
Unpacking the data
The University of South Australia’s Centre for Workplace Excellence (CWeX) partnered with Financy to help unpack the data.
“I’m pleased to see a significant improvement in gender equity in corporate boards. Research has shown that more women in leadership roles is pivotal in promoting gender equity in the corporate world through influencing corporate culture and the trickle-down effect,” said CWeX researcher Dr Xin Deng.
Female employment growth also outpaced males during the March quarter, with a 0.2 per cent gain in monthly hours worked compared to a 1 per cent fall for males. Female underemployment saw a significant drop to 7.21 per cent in March, compared to 7.3 per cent in December.
Speaking to the improvement in the women’s employment figure, Dr Deng says this leaves her “more cautious”.
“On one hand, the improvement is consistent with the significant expansion of the care economy where women account for a much higher proportion of the jobs. While this is a good thing for women, we know that women tend to work in the relatively low-paying jobs in these industries. On the other hand, those numbers tend to fluctuate on a quarterly basis,” said Dr Deng.
In the home, men have taken on more unpaid work, with the data showing 41 per cent, up from 40 per cent. For women, it’s slightly less at 58 per cent, down from 59 per cent, although the FWX Unpaid Work sub-index remains steady at 69.8 points.
The gender pay gap sub-index has remained the same at 88.1 points, reflecting an 11.9 per cent gap. WGEA data shows a stark contrast between the public gender pay gap (6.4 per cent) and private (21.1 per cent) sectors.
Equality in education attainment and career earnings is still an estimated 348.6 years away at the current rate.
The median time-frame to gender equality is forecast to be achieved in 21.9 years based on the gender pay gap. In other areas, equality is expected in 17.7 years in superannuation savings and 42.4 years in unpaid work.
Wish list for Labor’s next term
Following Labor’s win in the recent federal election, The Financy Women’s Index also calls for consideration of an “Evidence-Based Wish List for Labor’s Next Term,” a suite of proposed reforms designed to reach gender equity in Australia.
The list includes calls to engage men in gender equality through a national strategy that will “educate men and boys, fostering a shared understanding, awareness of the gains for men in the workplace and mitigating potential backlash”.
Looking at where taxpayer dollars are going, the FWX calls for a legislated National Gender Responsive Budgeting Act, mandating independent assessments to maximise economic participation and prevent costly social issues.
The FWX also proposes working to close the gender pay gap with a National Pay Equity and Transparency Act, which would expand pay gap reporting, strengthen enforcement, and demand more proactive measures from government contractors.
To boost workforce participation and secure women’s financial features, the FWX advocates for an Expanded Paid Parental Leave Act, offering 52 shared weeks with superannuation.
Finally, addressing unpaid care, the FWX proposes a National Strategy to value and integrate unpaid care into policy, supported by a “Care Economy Taskforce” and a campaign to champion shared parenting.
“It’s critically important that we do all we can now to make sure that gender equity becomes a normal part of our society and that everyone is brought along on the journey – including boys and young men – so that no one feels left behind, leaving progress vulnerable to a backlash,” said Dr Shane Oliver, Chief Economist at AMP.
“The latest Financy Women’s Index shows welcome further progress towards gender financial equity. But there is still a long way to go and the US experience with its backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion highlights that we can’t be complacent.”