04 February 2026
New data showing improved women's representation on Australian Government boards demonstrates that targets and accountability work, Chief Executive Women has said, calling on corporate Australia to follow suit.
The Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Report 2024-25, released today, shows women now hold 54.3% of all government board positions. The Government has met its 50% target for the fourth consecutive year, and 83.8% of individual boards have now achieved at least 40% women's representation [1].
CEW CEO Lisa Annese welcomed the findings and said they underscore the value of sustained commitment to gender equality.
"The Government's continued success on gender balance should be celebrated. These results are not an accident. They are the product of deliberate effort, clear targets, and genuine accountability," Ms Annese said.
"Fifteen years ago, women held just 33% of government board positions. Today, that figure is over 54%. That progress did not happen by chance. It happened because the Government set a target, measured against it, and held itself to account."
Ms Annese said that while corporate Australia has been making progress on board representation, it has done so without the same level of accountability.
According to the Australian Institute of Company Directors, women now hold 37.5% of board positions across the ASX 300, with the ASX 100 approaching 40% [2].
"Corporate Australia has made gains on boards, and that is encouraging. But it has taken far longer than it should have, and the slow scale of progress can be attributed to a lack of clear targets and accountability mechanisms that have driven the Government's success," Ms Annese said.
"The lack of accountability is even more apparent when we look beyond boardrooms to executive leadership, where the pace of change has been glacial."
"The 2025 CEW Senior Executive Census found that women hold just 31% of executive leadership roles and only 10% of CEO positions across the ASX 300. Seventeen companies still have no women in their executive leadership teams at all [3]."
"Our research shows that companies with 40:40 gender targets are 2.7 times more likely to achieve gender balance than those without [3]. The accountability crisis in corporate Australia is holding back progress. The evidence is clear: targets backed by accountability work"
Ms Annese said the Government's approach offers a roadmap for the private sector.
"We congratulate the Government on its continued leadership and call on corporate Australia to match that ambition with the same commitment to targets and accountability that has driven these results."
Media Contact:
Mayank Gurnani
E: mgurnani@cew.org.au | M: +61414463827
[1] Australian Government - Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Report 2024-25
[2] Australian Institute of Company Directors - Australia’s top boards close to 40% women
[3] Chief Executive Women - Senior Executive Census 2025
About Chief Executive Women
Since 1985, Chief Executive Women (CEW) has influenced and engaged all levels of Australian business and government to remove the barriers to women's progression and ensure equal opportunity for prosperity. CEW's 1,400 members represent Australia's most senior and distinguished leaders across the country's largest private and public organisations, collectively overseeing over 1.3 million employees and $749 billion in revenue.