New report says women's advancement to senior governance roles continues to lag
Women remain "underrepresented" in chair positions across organisations listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), according to a new report, as women's advancement to senior governance positions continues to lag.
The latest Gender Diversity Snapshot from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) showed that there were just 52 female chairs across ASX 300 companies, equivalent to 17.3%, as of 30 June.
This is only a slight gain throughout the year, where there were 51 chairs as of 30 April, and 48 as of 31 January 2026.
It also lags behind the representation of women in boardrooms, where women held 36.9% of board positions across ASX 300 firms and 37.6% for ASX 200 companies.
"Significant progress has been made over recent years towards improving the gender balance in boardrooms," the AICD report read.
"However, women remain underrepresented in Chair positions relative to their overall board representation."
Representation in boardrooms
The report further pointed out that women's representation in boardrooms for ASX 200 firms has remained stagnant since April, while it declined slightly for ASX 300 companies.
Mark Rigotti, AICD managing director and CEO, stressed the important role of boards in embedding diversity through succession planning and board renewal.
"By maintaining a balanced focus on skills and experience in appointments, unbiased recruitment, inclusive leadership and governance excellence, organisations can continue to build high-performing boards that reflect the diversity of perspectives needed to navigate an increasingly complex environment," Rigotti said.
30% of women representation
Australia is one of the few countries that has boards with at least 30% women directors without mandated quotas or intervention.
As of 30 June, 209 ASX 300 firms have reached the 30% target, while 150 ASX 200 firms have achieved the same.
This progress is also monitored by the 30% Club Australia, a business-led campaign launched in May 2015 that aims to increase gender diversity on company boards and executive leadership teams.
Marina Go, chair of the 30%+ Club, said that with the minimum 30% female board representation achieved, Australia must move beyond representation alone.
"Sustained progress will be measured not only by the number of women serving as directors, but by the extent to which women are represented in board leadership roles and are positioned to influence the future direction of Australia's listed companies," Go said.
