Backlash against female bosses – News.com.au

Women have lost ground in the executive ranks of Australia’s biggest listed companies for the first time in a decade, according to new data published by news.com.au. The latest Chief Executive Women census shows that women’s share of executive leadership roles within the ASX 200 slipped from 32 per cent to 31 per cent over the past year.

That decline coincides with a growing pushback against corporate diversity initiatives and places renewed pressure on boards to establish binding gender targets. Chief Executive Women president Helen Conway stated that the report puts every board and executive team on notice that hard-won gains can no longer be taken for granted.

ASX 300 Executive Leadership Pipeline Shrinks Across Key Roles

The stagnation in senior management has translated into a broader retreat across the top 300 listed firms. Across the ASX 300, the number of companies operating with zero women on their executive teams increased from 17 to 25 over the past year. Furthermore, women’s share of key stepping-stone positions leading to chief executive roles dropped by two percentage points down to 18 per cent.

This weakening talent pipeline has directly affected chief executive appointments. Women secured just 13 per cent of ASX 300 chief executive appointments, a steep decline from one in four appointments recorded in 2025. Overall, women currently occupy 11 per cent of ASX 300 chief executive positions, accounting for 31 company bosses, which represents an increase of four female chief executives compared to the previous year.

Internal Resistance and Shifting Corporate Priorities

Chief executive Lisa Annese linked the downward turn to a wider cultural shift within workplaces. 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, Ms Annese said.

For the first time, the annual census incorporated a survey of Chief Executive Women members, capturing insights from some of the nation’s most senior female leaders. The survey revealed that respondents were 2.3 times more likely to report rising opposition to gender equity than growing support over the preceding 12 months. Nearly one in three respondents noticed stronger resistance within their own organizations.

University of Sydney business school professor Dimitria Groutsis noted that corporate equity initiatives have not necessarily vanished from policy documents, but they are steadily losing attention, staffing resources, and funding. Professor Groutsis added that these programs are increasingly being reframed around narrow debates about merit.

Cultural Diversity Gaps Persist in Corporate Suites

The census also examined cultural diversity among senior executives in the ASX 300 for the first time. The findings showed that 23.5 per cent of women in executive teams came from backgrounds other than Anglo-Celtic or northwest European, trailing well behind the 38.9 per cent representation of adult women in the broader Australian population.

Representation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women proved even scarcer. Indigenous women account for less than 0.7 per cent of female senior executives across the ASX 300, even though First Nations people comprise 3.8 per cent of the national population.

Professor Nareen Young, director of the Indigenous People and Work Research and Practice Hub at the University of Technology Sydney, observed that corporate leadership in the country remains largely devoid of Indigenous women. Blak women are all but absent from it, Professor Young said.

Binding Targets and Long-Term Timelines for Parity

Historical data indicates that while progress has occurred over the past decade, the trajectory remains exceptionally gradual. Over the last ten years, women’s share of ASX 200 executive roles grew from 21 per cent to 31 per cent, while female chief executives increased from 5 per cent to 11 per cent. At the current rate of change, the report estimates that women will not achieve parity across ASX 200 executive leadership teams until approximately 2043, while equal representation among chief executives may not occur until roughly 2085.

Chief Executive Women maintains that companies implementing transparent quotas achieve superior outcomes. Businesses utilizing a 40:40 gender target proved four times more likely to maintain balanced executive teams than firms operating without such a benchmark. Despite this finding, only 39 per cent of ASX 300 companies have adopted the 40:40 target.

Addressing this decline will take concrete commitment from every company, and it begins with setting targets.

Helen Conway

Chief Executive Women is calling on corporate leadership to formally publish gender targets, reinforce career pipelines into top management, confront internal opposition, and expand how leadership potential is evaluated.