The Office for Women is a department of the Australian Government "to deliver policies and programmes to advance gender equality and improve the lives of Australian women"[1]
History
In 2013, a number of federal government departments were restructured, including the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet which took responsibility for the Office of the Status of Women.[2]
Reports
In December 2017, the Office for Women released the report, "Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Report 2016-17" to show "the Government’s performance against its gender diversity target on Australian Government boards."[3]
The report found that, "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." [4]