The Australian Government is making strong progress on its target for women to hold 50 percent of government board positions, with more women than ever now on government boards.

As at 30 June 2018, women now hold 45.8 percent of positions, an increase of 3.1 percentage points since 30 June 2017. Across the 2017-18 financial year, 53.1 percent of new appointments were women.

Six Commonwealth portfolios have reached or exceeded the 50 percent target, up from two portfolios at 30 June 2017. A further four portfolios are within only five percentage points of meeting the target.

The Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Report 2017-2018 is now available— reporting on the Australian Government’s performance against the 50% gender diversity target as well as providing statistical gender analysis for the 2017-18 financial year.

The Australian Government is also expanding its BoardLinks program to allow any woman who is interested in being considered for a government board appointment to register on the database. The BoardLinks database is used by the government to source candidates for appointment to government boards.

Previously, inclusion on the BoardLinks database has been limited to individuals personally endorsed by a BoardLinks Champion, government Minister, or departmental Secretary. Self-nominations will now be encouraged to expand the diversity of candidates with a range of skills and expertise.

Anyone interested in nominating to the BoardLinks database is encouraged to register.