Good result on Government Boards, but more work required

The Department of Finance has the lowest number of women on its boards (40%), closely followed by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (41.4%) and the Department of Home Affairs (44.7%) according to the 2021 Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Report.

The report is prepared annually by the Australian Government Office for Women and outlines performance against the Australian Government’s 50% target for gender balance on Australian Government board positions overall, and women and men each holding at least 40 per cent of positions on individual boards. The target was introduced on 1 July 2016, and replaced the previous gender target of women holding 40 per cent of Australian Government board positions overall.

Since the 2019–20 report, there has been positive progress across all key indicators:

• As at 30 June 2021, women held 49.6 per cent of positions across all Australian Government board appointments, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 30 June 2020.
• As at 30 June 2021, women held 39.1 per cent of Chair and Deputy Chair positions across Australian Government boards, an increase of 2.2 percentage points since 30 June 2020.
• In 2020–21, 52.2 per cent of new appointments to Australian Government boards were women, up 1.7 percentage points from 50.5 per cent in 2019–20.
• In 2020–21, 50.0 per cent of people nominated for Australian Government board positions by external organisations were women, up 0.8 percentage points from 49.2 per cent in 2019–20.

The findings for 2020–21 also show further effort is needed to achieve the 50 per cent target. The representation of women on Government boards decreased across four portfolios since 30 June 2020, including in three portfolios where women were already underrepresented at 30 June 2020.

Portfolios with boards trailing behind the rest on gender representation included:

1. Finance - 40% women represented on boards
2. Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications - 41.4%
3. Home Affairs - 44.7%
4. Treasury - 45.8%
5. Agriculture, Water and the Environment - 46.9%
6. Defence and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs - 48%

Writing in the foreword, Minister for Women, Senator Marise Payne said:

“While these are positive results, there is more to do to improve women’s representation in positions of leadership. Consistent reporting against targets is key to continuing our good work and achieving the target.”