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The number of female brokers has increased, but more still needs to be done to boost female representation across the industry, according to the MFAA.
In a sign of changing gender representation in broking, the number of female brokers in the industry has increased, according to the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).
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According to the MFAA’s newly released Industry Intelligence Service Report 18th edition, released this week, the number of female brokers rose to 3,749 in the period between October 2023 and March 2024, its highest level since the April 2018 to September 2018 period.
This equated to a 5.69 per cent increase on the previous six-month period and a 16.86 per cent climb year on year.
However, compared to the overall broker population, the percentage of female brokers was 26.7 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points year on year.
The number of new female recruits also fell, in both volume and proportion, period on period.
MFAA CEO Anja Pannek said the figures were encouraging, but warned that there was a long way to go to improve the proportion of female brokers.
“The industry needs to work together to better promote the benefits of a career in broking for women, including the flexibility of running your own business,” Pannek said.
In August 2024, Pannek told The Adviser that there needs to be a continued focus on increasing female representation in broking, as the industry should reflect the demographically diverse community it works with.
However, the broking industry and wider finance sector are not always reflective of the diversity across the broader society in Australia, particularly when it comes to the representation of women.
Zooming out on the wider industry, the MFAA found that the number of brokers grew by 2,575 to 22,031, the highest broker population to date and a rise of 13.2 per cent for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The total value of commercial loans also reached a new high at $20.31 billion, a year-on-year $3.81 billion increase or 23.12 per cent.
[Related: How to foster diversity and inclusion in the workplace]
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