SYDNEY, NSW – May 29, 2025 – Australia is making significant progress towards financial gender equality, with the latest Financy Women’s Index (FWX) showing an acceleration in women’s board representation and
gains in employment.
The FWX rose to 77.92 points in the March quarter, up from 77.53 points in December 2024, signalling broad-based improvement across key areas.
The March quarter delivered the largest increase yet in women occupying board positions. The FWX ASX 200 Leadership sub-index climbed to 76.8 points, driven by a 2 per cent increase in women on ASX 200 boards, now at 38.4 per cent.
Consequently, gender equality on ASX 200 boards is now projected to be just 4.9 years away, an improvement from 5.3 years a year ago.
“These results show that Australia is on track to reach equality on ASX 200 boards by 2030—a historic milestone for gender equality as one of the first widely campaigned and actioned areas closes in on parity,” said Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, Founder of Financy.
The long-term progress extends beyond the ASX 200. The ASX 300 now has 37 per cent female board representation—almost double the number from a decade ago (from 399 seats in 2016 to 781 in 2025). The number of women in the Australian Parliament has also nearly doubled since 2002.
"The recent federal election results were so significant for women that we are now teetering on the precipice of gender equality (in this area) and Women for Election are proud to have played a role in that,” notes Licia Heath, CEO of Women for Election.
Gains were also seen in the employment gender gap, with the FWX Employment sub-index rising to 74.4 points. Female employment growth outpaced males, with a 0.2 per cent gain in monthly hours worked compared to a 1 per cent fall for males during the March quarter.
Female underemployment also saw a significant drop to 7.21 per cent in March, from 7.3 per cent in December, suggesting more women are achieving their desired work hours.
Progress is gradually being made in the home, as men take on more unpaid work (41 per cent, up from 40 per cent) and women slightly less (58 per cent, down from 59 per cent), though the FWX Unpaid Work sub-index remains steady at 69.8 points.
The gender pay gap sub-index held at 88.1 points, reflecting an 11.9 per cent gap, with WGEA data highlighting a stark contrast between the public (6.4 per cent) and private (21.1 per cent) sectors.
However, challenges persist. The pace of progress in Unpaid Work and Education remains slow and is greatly affected by deep structural issues. Education in terms of attainment relative to career earnings remains the slowest area for change.
Equality in education attainment and career earnings is still an estimated 348.6 years away at the current rate.
Underscoring the importance of bridging this gap, NGS Super CEO Natalie Previtera said: "You don’t need to be a Chief Financial Officer to speak the language of money - but you do need to speak it to shape the decisions that matter both in your personal life and beyond.
“Financial fluency is often the unspoken language of power. And when access to that fluency isn’t equal - through education, encouragement or opportunity - influence isn’t equal either. But this isn’t just a leadership issue - it’s a life issue. From pay to super to investment, financial fluency shapes the choices women can make at every stage,” she said.
The University of South Australia’s Centre for Workplace Excellence (CWeX) partnered with Financy to help unpack the data and further inform its accurate interpretation.
“I’m pleased to see a significant improvement in gender equity in corporate boards. Research has shown that more women in leadership roles is pivotal in promoting gender equity in the corporate world through influencing corporate culture and the trickle-down effect,” said CWeX researcher Dr Xin Deng.
“I’m more cautious about the improvement in the employment figure in favour of women. On one hand, the improvement is consistent with the significant expansion of the care economy where women account for a much higher proportion of the jobs. While this is a good thing for women, we know that women tend to work in the relatively low-paying jobs in these industries. On the other hand, those numbers tend to fluctuate on a quarterly basis,” said Dr Deng.
The Financy Women's Index also calls for consideration of an "Evidence-Based Wish List for Labor's Next Term," a suite of proposed reforms designed to hardwire gender equity into Australia's economic and social fabric.
“It's critically important that we do all we can now to make sure that gender equity becomes a normal part of our society and that everyone is brought along on the journey - including boys and young men - so that no one feels left behind, leaving progress vulnerable to a backlash,” said Dr Shane Oliver, Chief Economist at AMP.
“The latest Financy Women’s Index shows welcome further progress towards gender financial equity. But there is still a long way to go and the US experience with its backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion highlights that we can't be complacent.
This “Evidence-Based Wish List for Labor's Next Term” includes reforms that aim to accelerate progress and ensure lasting change.
Evidence-Based Wish List for Labor's Next Term:
- Engaging Men in Gender Equality: To secure a future where gender equality benefits everyone, we propose a national strategy to engage and educate men and boys, fostering a shared understanding, awareness of the gains for men in the workplace and mitigating potential backlash.
- Budgeting for Equality: Let's ensure every taxpayer dollar works for all Australians not just those in certain states. We call for a legislated National Gender Responsive Budgeting Act, mandating independent assessments to maximise economic participation and prevent costly social issues.
- Closing the Pay Gap: Closing the gender pay gap requires bold action. Our proposed National Pay Equity and Transparency Act will expand pay gap reporting, strengthen enforcement, and demand more proactive measures from government contractors.
- Supercharging Parental Leave: To boost workforce participation and secure women's economic futures, we advocate for an Expanded Paid Parental Leave Act, offering 52 shared weeks with superannuation, encouraging equal uptake and recognising care giving as a shared responsibility.
- Valuing Unpaid Care: Unpaid care is the bedrock of our economy. We propose a National Strategy to value and integrate unpaid care into policy, supported by a "Care Economy Taskforce" and a campaign to champion shared parenting.
Timeframes to Equality:
- ASX 200 Boards: 4.9 years
- Unpaid Work: 42.4 years
- Superannuation: 17.7 years
- Employment: 24.4 years
- Underemployment Rate: 22.2 years
- Education: 348.6 years
Key Facts:
● Progress to financial gender equality improved in the March quarter with the FWX up 0.5 per cent or 0.39 points to 77.92 points out of 100, compared to 77.53 points in the December quarter.
● Whilst the Index reading is the highest since June 2024, it’s 0.27 points lower than where it stood in the March quarter in 2024.
● The biggest driver of progress was the number of women appointed to ASX 200 boards, which climbed to 38.4 per cent in the March quarter - the highest ever recorded.
● The number of years it will now take to achieve gender equality on ASX 200 Boards has now broken through the 5-year mark at 4.9 years – the shortest timeframe of any the seven FWX sub-index areas.
● The FWX today unveils an "Evidence-Based Wish List for Labor's Next Term," a suite of proposed reforms designed to hardwire gender equity into Australia's economic and social fabric. These reforms are particularly relevant given recent geopolitical factors.
About us:
The Financy Women’s Index™ (FWX) is an independent quarterly measurement of the economic progress of women and time-frames to gender equality in Australia. The FWX provides a snapshot on gender equality progress across seven areas being education, employment, underemployment, wages, unpaid work, ASX 200 board gender diversity and wealth (superannuation.) The Index measures scores across the seven areas on a 0 to 100 scale. The scores are expressed as a percentage and reflect the portion of the gender gap that has been closed). The index headline score is the average of the seven areas that have been converted to respective indexed series to track measurements of performance over a five-year period. Each of the key areas of the Index are not weighted. Seasonally adjusted data is used where it is available. This Financy Women’s Index is written by Financy founder Bianca Hartge-Hazelman with data assistance provided by Xin Deng at the University of South Australia's Centre for Workplace Excellence (CWeX) and is peer reviewed by Advisory Committee members, Dr Shane Oliver, Simone Cheung, Roger Wilkins, Dr Leonora Risse, Bruce Hockman, Nicki Hutley and Rhiannon Yetsenga. The Index is proudly sponsored by NGS Super, the Ecstra Foundation, Seven Consulting, Aspire Planning and HeirWealth. Creative Agency, We Are Why is entrusted with bringing our data to life through creative expression.
Contact details:
Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
Author Financy Women’s Index:
M: 0403 656 399