14 October 2026
The tenth Chief Executive Women (CEW) Senior Executive Census, released today, finds that after three years of stalling, progress for women in executive leadership has gone backwards.
This comes as senior women leaders surveyed by CEW report growing opposition to gender equity in their workplaces.
Women's share of ASX 200 executive leadership team roles fell from 32 to 31 per cent, the first fall in the ten years the Census has tracked it. The number of ASX 300 companies with no women on their executive team rose from 17 to 25. Across the ASX 300, women's share of CEO pipeline roles fell two percentage points to 18 per cent, and women received one in seven CEO appointments, down from one in four in 2025.
CEW President Helen Conway AO said the breadth of this year's decline should force corporate Australia to question whether it has grown complacent in addressing women's underrepresentation in leadership.
"The 2026 CEW Census puts every board and executive team on notice that hard-won gains can no longer be taken for granted," Ms Conway said.
"In a global climate of open pushback against gender equity, a fall in women's representation in Australia's largest companies shows that progress here is under the same pressure," CEW Chief Executive Officer Lisa Annese AM said.
Results from a survey of CEW members, conducted for the first time as part of this year's Census, reflect that pressure within Australian organisations. The senior women leaders who responded were 2.3 times more likely to report increasing opposition to gender equity over the past 12 months than increasing support. Almost one in three (32 per cent) observed greater opposition in their own organisation.
Respondents report that while formal commitments to gender equity remain in place, it is being deprioritised in practice.
"CEW members are some of the most senior women leaders in the country, and when they note growing and open opposition to gender equity across some of Australia's largest companies, it is a warning to every business leader that the progress women have made in leadership is at risk," Ms Annese said.
Dimitria Groutsis, Professor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Sydney Business School, noted that opposition to gender equity was growing yet subtle.
"It was described by respondents as a quiet drift. For instance, our findings show that gender equity is being dropped from board papers, it is losing resources and is being recast as a question of 'merit'," Professor Groutsis said.
The wider findings of the 2026 Census show how far there is still to go:
Women from culturally diverse backgrounds are further underrepresented. In its first assessment of the likely cultural origins of women in ASX 300 executive leadership teams, the Census finds 23.5 per cent are from cultural origins other than Anglo-Celtic or North-West European, compared with 38.9 per cent of adult women in Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women make up less than 0.7 per cent of women senior executives in the ASX 300, despite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people making up 3.8 per cent of Australia's population.
"Our most senior women leaders still don't reflect the Australia they serve," Professor Groutsis said.
Professor Nareen Young, Director of the UTS Centre for Indigenous People and Work (CIPW), said the findings for Indigenous women were particularly stark.
"When you look at the corporate leadership of this country, Blak women are all but absent from it. Our mob makes up nearly four per cent of the population, but we can't even crack one per cent representation for our women at these top-listed companies. The Indigenous workforce is growing rapidly, but companies who are serious about reflecting the communities they serve need to be building their leadership pipelines now," Professor Young said.
"Corporate Australia has to bring the same ambition and accountability to gender equity that it brings to every other measure of performance," Ms Conway said.
Companies with a 40:40 gender target are four times more likely to have a gender-balanced executive leadership team than companies with no target, yet only 39 per cent of ASX 300 companies have adopted one.
Sonya Sawtell-Rickson, Chief Investment Officer at HESTA and Chair of 40:40 Vision, said the CEW Census makes a compelling case for targets.
"Ten years on, the CEW Census continues to be a landmark reflection of gender diversity in the Australian business landscape. With a decade of data, we can clearly see that progress has occurred - but is at risk," said Ms Sawtell-Rickson.
"Achieving gender balance is not just the right thing to do, it's better for businesses, investors and the economy. As investors, we've long seen gender diversity as supporting innovation and strong decision-making, which ultimately enhances business resilience."
"Addressing this decline will take concrete commitment from every company, and it begins with setting targets," Ms Conway said.
CEW is calling on Australian corporate leaders to act on five priorities:
ENDS
Media Contact:
Mayank Gurnani
E: mgurnani@cew.org.au
M: +61414463827
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.