Media Release
EMBARGO: 12:01 am 04 December 2025
Champions of Change Coalition has released its eighth annual Coalition-wide Impact Report, demonstrating how CEO-led, innovative and evidence-based action drives measurable progress towards inclusive gender equality across workplaces.
The annual Impact Report is the largest voluntary disclosure of progress towards workplace gender equality in the world, sharing data, actions and insights from more than 200 Members, representing organisations across every major sector. It reflects both year-on-year improvement and the long-term impact of a collective leadership strategy that has been sustained and expanded since 2010.
“When we started this work, it was unfamiliar territory for many leaders,” said Founder of Champions of Change Coalition Elizabeth Broderick AO. “Now Members from every major sector are leading measurable change through personal commitment, action and shared accountability.”
For example:
- 46% of ASX 200-listed Member organisations have achieved gender-balanced executive leadership teams, compared with 31% across the broader ASX 200. A further 46% are close to balance, demonstrating continued momentum toward equal leadership representation.
- Across all Member organisations, gender balance in overall representation and Board positions has reached our 40:40:20 target.
- Around 30% of Champions of Change Members are women – a powerful reflection of the gender equal and inclusive leadership we seek to model and embed across every sector.
- 97% of Member organisations are mainstreaming flexible work with policy, tools, technology and leadership support, while 78% are taking action to enable flexible work for frontline and operational workers.
- 79% of Members have a strategy and policy in place to improve men’s uptake of parental leave.
- Members have continued their leadership on domestic and family violence prevention and response, including employee supports, approaches for responding to employees who may be using violence, and initiatives that deliver positive community impact.
“Yet we’re also seeing early signs of how easily social forces, fatigue or competing priorities can erode hard-won gains,” according to Elizabeth. “This is a moment that demands courage and conviction. We know that progress only happens when leadership is visible, consistent, action oriented and accountable for progress.”
Flagship initiatives for the Coalition this year focused on closing gender pay gaps, accelerating gender-balanced leadership pipelines, embedding equity into the design of systems and workplaces, and deepening engagement of men in advancing respect, care and inclusion. Members also strengthened accountability through new measurement frameworks that help to identify and target the most effective actions for sustained progress.
“This year’s results remind us that in a more complex world, maintaining momentum will take more targeted approaches and renewed energy,” said Andrew Stevens, Chair of Champions of Change Coalition. “The next phase of our work will elevate again, taking advantage of social, technological and economic transitions to ensure we are building gender equality and inclusion into the future, in a way that all organisations, communities and people prosper.”
“We are deeply grateful to every Member, Implementation Leader and their wider teams who continue to contribute to this collective effort,” said Ms Broderick. “The progress in this report belongs to them. It reflects years of consistent action and collective leadership which means standing up for equality and inclusion, especially when it’s challenging to do so.”
Members continue to report year-on-year progress towards gender-balanced representation, closing gender pay gaps and embedding the conditions and cultures that enable all people to thrive in the workplace:
Leadership:
- 93% of Members have made a leadership commitment to gender equality through a strategy and action plan that is monitored and reviewed annually by the board or senior team (up from 92% in 2024).
- 79% of Members have gender equality goals reflected in the expectations of all leaders in Member organisations via the Leadership Shadow approach (up from 78% in 2024).
Accountability:
- 82% of Members oversee the conduct and actioning of outcomes of a gender pay equity audit at least every two years (unchanged from 2024).
- 67% of Member organisations publicly disclose gender equality targets and annual progress against them (unchanged from 2024).
- 71% of Member organisations publicly report their organisation-wide gender pay gap (up from 63% in 2024).
Representation:
- 64% of Member organisations include gender targets in succession lists for CEO and other C-suite roles (up from 61% in 2024).
- 93% of Member organisations have systems in place to address bias and ensure equality in recruitment and promotion processes (down from 94% from 2024).
- 49% of Member organisations have time-bound targets to address gender balance across the organisation (up from 44% in 2024).
Cultures of care, safety, respect and belonging:
- 83% of Member organisations implement initiatives (other than carer’s leave) to support employees with caring responsibilities beyond parenting (up from 80% in 2024).
- 79% of Member organisations have a strategy with policy settings in place to improve men’s uptake of parental leave (up from 78% in 2024).
- 97% of Member organisations have mainstreamed flexible work with policy, tools, technology and leadership support (up from 95% in 2024) and 78% are taking action to enable flexible work for frontline and operational workers.
Inclusive decisions and design:
- 92% of Member organisations have initiatives in place to support employees, family or friends experiencing domestic and family violence (up from 91% in 2024).
- 63% of Member organisations undertake initiatives to prevent and respond to domestic and family violence in the community (up from 54% in 2024).
- 93% of Members have reviewed the public ‘face’ of their organisation to ensure they are presenting a respectful and inclusive environment for women (up from 91% in 2024).
The next phase of the Coalition’s work focuses on accelerating progress and embedding equality into the systems that shape decisions, workplaces and industries, including:
- Broadening leadership pipelines to achieve gender-balanced CEO succession.
- Partnering on policy reform and system-wide change to drive progress and accountability across sectors.
- Addressing persistent gaps in leadership, pay and opportunity in industries where progress has been slow.
- Elevating care as an economic and leadership issue, enabling all employees to contribute and care without penalty.
- Building inclusion into major transformations, including the use of AI and sector-wide redesign.
For more information, please contact:
Rita Zonius, Communications Director, Champions of Change Coalition
m: 0434 608 829 e: rita.zonius@championsofchangecoalition.org
About Champions of Change Coalition:
Champions of Change Coalition includes CEOs, Secretaries of Government Departments, Non-Executive Directors, and community leaders who believe gender equality is a major business, economic, societal, and human rights issue. Established in 2010 by Australia’s then Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick AO, the Coalition is today globally recognised as a leadership strategy that drives progress on gender balance, respectful workplaces, and inclusive gender equality in decisions and design processes. 2025 marks 15 years of Champions of Change Coalition, a milestone that reflects our shared commitment to bold leadership and sustained action on gender equality across workplaces, sectors and society. Together, the Coalition’s Members represent more than 800,000 employees across every major sector. Our goal is to achieve inclusive gender equality across workplaces by 2030.