Chief Executive Women census shows glacial progress for women in key leadership roles at ASX300 companies

Women will not have parity with men in leading Australia’s top companies for another 50 years if current “glacial” progress continues, according to damning new figures. Women’s representation in executive leadership roles has increased just 2 per cent in the past year, according to Chief Executive Women’s latest senior executive census, with 28 companies in the ASX300 having no women in their executive ranks. Of those, 11 of 28 are headquartered in Perth. But the annual census, released on Wednesday, also showed some progress: six more women were leading ASX200 companies than in 2022 and the number of women in ASX100 companies in so-called “CEO pipeline” roles — those with responsibility for profit and loss — increased. Despite these improvements — and progress in larger companies with gender targets in place — the pace of change is still slow, with Chief Executive Women warning the public sector and Government are leading the way and putting corporate Australia at risk of being left behind. “It could take up to 50 years to achieve gender parity in CEO roles in corporate Australia,” Chief Executive Women president Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said. “(That) is too long considering all the benefits that can be gained for all Australians by accelerating gender equality. “As a nation, we cannot afford to wait. If we collaborate, there is no question that we can achieve the change needed in the next decade.” Women graduate university at a greater rate than men, the report shows, at 60 per cent to 40 per cent, but are underrepresented in corporate leadership. The census showed women make up just 29 per cent of executive leadership roles in the ASX300, 19 per cent of chief financial officers, 18 per cent of chief executive pipeline roles, and just 9 per cent of CEOs. This is despite eight women taking the helm of an ASX300 company in the past year. In total, women lead 13 ASX100 companies, another seven in ASX200 and a further six in the ASX300. These included Leah Weckert at Coles and Vicki Brady at Telstra — as well as Fiona Hick at Fortescue, who stepped down last week. It does not include Vanessa Hudson at Qantas, who takes the reins on Wednesday, but she was counted as one of the few female CFOs. For the first time, all ASX100 companies have at least one woman on their executive leadership team. Just two per cent of ASX200 companies have an “over-representation” of woman on their executive, defined as more than 60 per cent. IGO was ranked the nation’s best company, with three of its four executives women — the 75 per cent a marked improvement from 2017 when it was just 29 per cent. Wesfarmers, APM Human Services, BHP, South32, Newcrest and Core Lithium were the other big WA names with a female executive of 50 per cent or higher. At the other end of the scale, WA companies with no women in their executive, according to the census, include Mondelphous, Liontown, Ramelius Resources and Regis Resources. The poor overall showing is in contrast to the Federal public service, where 52.3 per cent of senior executives are women and more than 40 per cent of all agencies have women chief executives. At 5.2 per cent, the public service gender pay gap is less than half of the 13 per cent national gap. From next year, big companies will have their gender pay gaps made public in what the Government hopes will encourage greater income parity. The report also emphasises that women are not “a uniform cohort” and that companies needed to consider gender, race and other identities, including sexuality, to truly reap benefits from diversity. Chief Executive Women wants all ASX300 companies to set a gender target of 40:40:20 — that executive ranks are comprised of 40 per cent men, 40 per cent women and 20 per cent any gender — with real accountability, as well as sponsor diverse emerging women as future leaders to ensure they have growth opportunities for executive roles. The number of companies with 40:40 or above targets falls from 55 per cent in the ASX100 to 39 per cent in the ASX300, of which 36 per cent of companies have no targets at all. It has also called on investors to consider gender diversity, and push for companies to be accountable for delivering on targets. “Diverse women’s leadership is an undeniable force for our country and an economic imperative,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said. “Gender equality not only benefits society and the economy, but it also drives greater profits, better ESG outcomes and overall outperformance for business.”