Women’s executive leadership share drops after decade of gains
Women’s share of ASX 200 executive leadership team roles has slipped from 32% to 31%, the first fall in the ten years the Chief Executive Women (CEW) Senior Executive Census has tracked it. The organization is urging corporate Australia to renew its focus on targets and succession planning.
The CEW Census, released on October 14, found the number of ASX 300 companies with no women on their executive team rose from 17 to 25. Women’s share of CEO pipeline roles fell by 2% to 18%, and they received one in seven CEO appointments, down from one in four in 2025.
Decline prompts calls for renewed focus
CEW president Helen Conway AO warned that boards must address complacency. “The 2026 CEW Census puts every board and executive team on notice that hard-won gains can no longer be taken for granted,” she said.
CEW CEO Lisa Annese AM noted the decline reflects a broader global trend. A survey of CEW members found senior women leaders were 2.3 times more likely to report increasing opposition to gender equity in the past year, with 32% observing greater opposition in their organizations.
The census highlights a key opportunity for employers. Companies with a 40:40 gender target are four times more likely to have a gender-balanced executive team, yet only 39% of ASX 300 companies have adopted such a target.
Untapped potential in the workforce
A report by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) highlights untapped workforce potential. WGEA CEO Christine Castley OAM said employers should focus on the entire talent pipeline to better utilize available talent.
The report, Gender Equity Insights 2026, found that women’s workforce participation is increasing and women are progressing into management. However, women were more likely than men to resign from leadership positions, a “missing middle” that reflects a persistent leak in the talent pipeline.
Women’s departures from management roles are linked to uneven caring responsibilities and a lack of flexible work offerings for both women and men at key career moments. Employers with women CEOs and key management personnel were more likely to have flexible workplace strategies, providing a competitive advantage.
BCEC director Professor Alan Duncan called for a closer examination of the entire career pathway. “Women are being promoted at higher rates than men at several points in the pipeline, yet that advantage disappears by the time we reach the most senior positions,” he said.
Flexibility as a career pathway
While 90% of organizations offered flexible start and finish times in 2024-25, and 86% offered part-time work, only 13.2% designed management roles for part-time work. BCEC senior research fellow Dr. Silvia Salazar noted that only 11% of organizations had a target to increase men’s use of parental leave.
“Offering part-time work is very different from designing senior jobs that can actually be done part-time,” Dr. Salazar said. “The goal should be to make flexibility part of a career pathway, rather than something that comes at the expense of career progression.”
Gender balance benefits economy and businesses
Sonya Sawtell-Rickson, chief investment officer at HESTA and chair of 40:40 Vision, said achieving gender balance is “better for businesses, investors and the economy”.
