Opens in a new tab

Ambition isn’t the problem.

Australian women are more ambitious than ever. What slows them down is structure: unclear pathways, invisibility to the people who decide, and employers stepping back from support at the exact moment women are asking for more.

Women’s Workplace Visibility in 2026 is a national survey of 372 women, produced by Women’s Agenda in partnership with Cultivate Sponsorship. Half the respondents are more than 15 years into their careers. Three in ten are in management. Here is what they told us.

0%
want a promotion in the next three years
0%
say a lack of skills or experience is what’s in the way
0%
say the biggest barrier is a lack of clear options
0%
say their employer doesn’t offer adequate mentoring or sponsorship for women
0%
say their employer can do more on gender equality in leadership
This isn’t a story about confidence. It’s a story about structure and the workplace culture that people need to navigate, and eventually choose to stay in or not.

Katriina Tähkä

Managing Director, Cultivate Sponsorship

Women’s Workplace Visibility in 2026

Download Report

What the report covers

The findings from the full sample. The voices behind the data, in women’s own words. A focused look at the 25% of respondents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, who plan further ahead and see their options more clearly, but keep those plans outside the workplace. Comments from First Nations women on the skills they bring and the extra load they carry. And four things employers can do now.

What employers can do

WATCH THE VIDEO

Encourage open, culturally safe conversations about ambition, at every level, not just the annual review with a line manager.

Treat sponsorship as infrastructure, not a program that gets cut when budgets tighten.

Understand the difference between mentoring and sponsorship. One gives advice. The other gives advocacy.

Make pathways clearer and give women access to the people who make decisions about advancement.

Sponsorship, built properly

Willow pairs high-potential women with senior leaders who can open doors. Warra does the same for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, in a culturally safe framework co-designed with community. Both are structured, measured and built to outlast the program.

Talk to us about your organisation

“43% of women cite unclear career options as a key barrier to promotion“

Research produced by Women’s Agenda in partnership with Cultivate Sponsorship. Survey conducted April to May 2026, 372 respondents. Read it on Women’s Agenda.

Acknowledgement of Country

Cultivate Sponsorship spans the sacred, beautiful, and diverse lands of the Australian continent and its neighbouring islands. We acknowledge the past and present Traditional Owners of the lands on which we learn and work.

We pay our deepest respects to the roles that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders continue to play as the oldest living generations of teachers, artists, engineers, and scientists. We cherish our youngest leaders, their voices and the change they are informing.

Download our [name of download]

Ex ipsum culpa mollit enim enim. Excepteur duis esse in esse aliqua eiusmod.

Download Form