The report outlines performance against the Government’s targets for gender balance on Australian Government boards. While record high representation was seen in overall positions to date, there is still progress to be made for positions at the individual board level.

In March 2024, the targets were renewed and expanded following the release of Working for women: a strategy for gender equality. 

Key findings

• There were 347 Australian Government boards and bodies with 2,187 filled reportable positions. Women filled 54.4% of these positions, representing the highest representation of women in overall positions to date. 
• Of the 347 individual boards, women hold at least 40% of positions on 272 boards (78.4%).
• Women’s representation in new appointments and external nominations has improved with new appointments increasing by 4 percentage points to 56.9% in 2023–24 and external nominations increasing by 9.3 percentage points to 54.5% in 2023–24. 
• Eleven out of 17 portfolios met or exceeded 50% representation of women on Australian Government boards.
• Women held 45.3% of Chair and Deputy Chair positions on Australian Government boards. This result is 3 percentage points higher than the 30 June 2023 result.