The question of gender balance in corporate leadership has become central to governance, investor expectations, and social impact. In mid-2025, Australia’s top listed companies are inching close to a landmark: around 40% female directorship across major indices. But behind that headline lie both encouraging progress—and persistent gaps.

In this post, we’ll explore:

1. The current state of women on ASX boards (June 2025)
2. Trends over time and the path to this point
3. Where the gains are stalling
4. Why this matters (for performance, governance, reputation)
5. What boards, search firms, and stakeholders must do to sustain momentum

Let’s dive in.

1. Snapshot: Women on ASX Boards in June 2025

According to the AICD Gender Diversity Snapshot (30 June 2025), women now hold a substantial portion of board seats in Australia’s listed companies:

• ASX 100: 39.3 % of directors are women
• ASX 200: 38.1 % female directorship
• ASX 300: 37.5 % women on boards

That upward trend is incremental but steady: the ASX 300 figure rose from 37.3 % in June 2024 to 37.5 % in June 2025.

Let’s also consider the largest subsets:

• ASX 20: 42.0 % female directorship
• ASX 50: 41.0 % women on boards

These figures mean that many of Australia’s top companies are either at or approaching the 40 % “best practice” threshold. The AICD describes the situation as “close to 40 % women” on the ASX 100 boards.

In terms of leadership roles:

• ASX 300 boards now have 45 female chairs (up from 42 in 2024)
• ASX 200 has 25 women chairs

But despite these gains, women remain underrepresented in some segments—especially at the topmost echelons of influence.

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2. How We Got Here: Trends and Momentum

A decade of cumulative gains

The progress toward gender balance on ASX boards is no accident. Over the past decade, women have steadily increased their presence in boardrooms. In 2016, there were only 399 women on ASX 300 boards. By 2025, that number had nearly doubled to 781 seats.

Today, 73 % of ASX 300 boards have at least 30% women, up from 69 % just a year earlier.

Such milestones reflect years of policy nudges, awareness campaigns, cultural change, and directorial development programs.

Role of institutional initiatives

Several well-known initiatives have played a significant role:

• 30 %+ Club Australia: This group of chairs and CEOs aims to promote women’s representation in leadership. Their benchmarking and advocacy have become a barometer for progress.
• AICD’s Chair’s Mentoring Program: The program mentors women for board readiness. Its alumni (over 419 women so far) are contributing to board-level pipelines.
• Watermark Board Diversity Index (in partnership with Deloitte): This annual benchmarking report goes beyond gender, tracking intersectional representation and offering richer analytics.

These collaborative efforts between governance bodies, firms, and associations have helped raise awareness of board composition, ensure accountability, and build momentum.

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3. Where Progress Is Slowing: Warning Signs & Challenges

While the headline numbers are promising, a closer look reveals areas where growth is plateauing or uneven.

Plateauing at the top tiers

The ASX 100’s female directorship rate stayed flat at 39.3 % from June 2024 to June 2025.

More starkly, ASX 50 and ASX 20 showed slight declines:

• ASX 50 dipped from 42.0 % to 41.0 %
• ASX 20 dipped from 43.9 % to 42.0 %

This suggests that as boards mature and competition for high-profile directorships intensifies, incremental gains become harder.

Broader diversity dimensions lagging

While gender is improving, other dimensions of inclusion remain sluggish:

• Cultural diversity: Anglo-Celtic directors make up 91.9 % of board seats in ASX 300, up from 91.2 % last year.
• First Nations representation: Only 5 directors with First Nations identity hold 7 board seats across ASX 300.
• Disability and LGBTQ+ representation: The index notes no openly identified board members with disability, and only 4 openly LGBTQ+ directors — though true numbers may be higher.

The message is clear: achieving gender thresholds does not automatically yield deeper inclusion.

The “pipeline” and succession bottlenecks

One recurring concern is a constrained supply of board-ready women. As many boards fill existing quotas, future growth depends on:

• Succession planning that anticipates turnover
• Broadening the criteria and search methods used by boards
• Developing future female leaders in executive, advisory, and governance paths

If those pipelines aren’t healthy and deep, the risk is stagnation in the next wave of board appointments.

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4. Why It Matters: Beyond the Numbers

Why should companies, investors, and stakeholders care about the percentage of women on ASX boards? The implications are real and strategic.

4.1 Governance and performance

Research globally suggests that more balanced boards lead to:

• Better oversight through diversity of perspectives
• More rigorous challenge of assumptions
• More resilient decision-making in volatile or uncertain contexts
• Higher ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) credibility

In a sector like mining, where long-term risk, sustainability, and stakeholder expectations are high, these governance advantages can translate to competitive differentiation.

4.2 Reputation, investor expectations & capital markets

In Australia and overseas, institutional investors are increasingly asking for transparency in board diversity metrics. Boards that lag may face scrutiny in ESG ratings, proxy challenges, or reputational risk.

Moreover, setting a board composition that reflects societal norms enhances brand legitimacy, stakeholder trust, and company culture.

4.3 Talent attraction, inclusion and culture

When women see representation at the board level, it signals greater organisational commitment to gender equity throughout the business. That can:

• Improve retention and progression of female talent
• Encourage inclusive leadership mindsets
• Drive decisions more attuned to risk, community and stakeholder impact

For firms competing in sectors that have historically skewed male—such as mining and energy—this effect can be even more potent.

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5. What Needs to Be Done to Keep Momentum Going

To convert promising statistics into sustained change, a coordinated effort is essential. Here are strategic levers for boards, search firms, regulators, and stakeholders.

5.1 Boards and chairs must lead accountability

• Set credible targets beyond the minimum, not just to hit 30 % but to evolve toward 40 % and beyond
• Embed diversity in succession planning so that turnover leads to opportunity, not stagnation
• Require inclusive search processes that mandate slate diversity, unconscious-bias training, and alternative candidate channels
• Report transparently to shareholders and stakeholders on board composition, pipeline and gaps

5.2 Search firms and executive recruiters must adapt

• Expand search processes to include nontraditional candidates
• Invest in leadership development programs oriented to board readiness
• Partner with mentorship and sponsorship programs to identify women earlier
• Hold themselves accountable to diversity metrics in shortlists

5.3 Stakeholders, investors& regulators must keep pressure on

• Use governance frameworks (e.g. “comply or explain”) to push reporting
• Include board diversity as a criterion in ESG evaluation and proxy voting
• Support initiatives like the 30 %+ Club, AICD programs, and governance disclosures
• Encourage intersectional diversity (not just gender) in board composition

5.4 Develop the pipeline early

• Commit to leadership development for women in mid-level roles
• Encourage board observation and training programs
• Support women to step into non-executive roles, advisory boards, and public boards
• Focus on underrepresented groups (e.g. rural women, women in STEM, First Nations women)

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6. Looking Ahead: Risks and Opportunities Risks

• Plateauing growth at the high end if boards become complacent
• Tokenism or “box ticking” rather than genuine inclusion
• Concentration of female directors in non-core committees or low-influence roles
• Neglecting other diversity dimensions, which may undermine inclusion and innovation
• Pipeline fatigue if development efforts at executive levels lag

Opportunities

• Many boards haven’t yet hit 40 %, creating room to continue growth
• The ASX 20/50 segments already exceeding 40 % offer models for best practices
• The narrative is shifting from “gender diversity as a cost” to “diversity as a value driver”
• Early adopters of deeper inclusion will gain reputational and governance advantage
• The next frontier is not just women on boards, but women in leadership and C-suite, and boards that reflect multiple dimensions of identity

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7. Key Takeaways & Action Steps (Focus Area & Recommendation)

• ‍Board targets - Encourage clients to aim beyond 30 %, toward 40 %. Use the mid-2025 data to benchmark gaps.‍
• Succession & search - Insist on inclusive candidate slates; audit search firm processes.‍
• Board reporting - Promote transparent disclosure of gender, cultural, and other diversity metrics.‍
• Pipeline development - Partner with programs to build future female directors (mentoring, sponsorship).‍
• Cross-dimension inclusion - Help clients push beyond gender to inclusive representation across ethnicity, First Nations, LGBTQ+, disability.‍
• Ongoing review - Regularly compare year-on-year changes, flag plateau risks early, and recalibrate strategy.

For clients in mining, energy, engineering or infrastructure, board diversity is no longer a “nice-to-have” — it’s becoming a governance expectation. Use the mid-2025 data as a wake-up call: while we are closer than ever, the journey is far from over.