The Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Report 2016-17 shows the Government’s performance against its gender diversity target on Australian Government boards.

On 1 July 2016, the Government set a target of women holding 50% of Australian Government board positions overall, and at least 40% representation of women and 40% representation of men on individual boards.

As at 30 June 2017, women held 42.7% of Australian Government board positions. This is the highest outcome since public reporting on the gender balance of Government boards began in 2011.

Statistics on new appointments made in 2016-17 show how individual portfolios have progressed towards meeting the target. Of the 729 new appointments made in 2016-17, 46.2% of appointees were women. For seven of the 18 government portfolios, women comprised over 50% of new board appointments during 2016-17.

The Report also details the number of women across portfolios that hold Chair and Deputy Chair roles. Reporting on the number of women who hold these senior positions is important in understanding women’s representation at higher levels of leadership. 

More information on the Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards initiative and previous year reports are available.