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The $15,000 scholarships are aimed at advancing gender equality in the industry.
Major aggregator Finsure Group has launched what it describes as an “industry-first” scholarship program aimed at supporting more women to become mortgage brokers.
The scholarships, which form part of Finsure’s Women in Finsure initiative, are each worth more than $15,000 with the initiative supported by the AAMC Training Group and the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).
The package includes training from both the AAMC Training Group and Finsure’s Broker Academy, plus branding and IT support.
Applications for the scholarships will open shortly, with successful candidates to be announced ahead of the next round of Finsure professional development days in June.
Finsure first announced the scholarships at an International Women’s Day event in Sydney.
Women in Finsure, which was established in 2018, has helped increase recruitment of female brokers within the aggregator’s network significantly, with Finsure aiming for a 50/50 split of women and men.
Fatima Dib, Women in Finsure co-chair and Finsure’s head of business innovation, said the group was committed to increasing the number of female mortgage brokers.
“I understand first-hand the challenges that female mortgage brokers face in our industry, and I believe this program helps knock down barriers that prevent many women from joining,” she said.
“Mortgage broking has been such an important part of my life, but I joined at a time where there were few opportunities for women needing to juggle the pressures of home life against their professional life.
“Not only will successful candidates for the scholarship program receive leading training from both the AAMC Training Group and our very own Finsure Broker Academy, but benefit from Finsure’s ‘Business Start Up’ package that includes free branding and IT support.
“Add to that 1:1 mentoring from industry leaders plus a strong support network through our Women in Finsure program and we’re confident our scholarship gives our candidates the best possible start to their career with a clear pathway to success.”
MFAA CEO Anja Pannek said the body for mortgage and finance brokers was pleased to support the Women in Finsure scholarship program.
“Along with other industry partners, we appreciate Finsure’s support for the MFAA led and recently released Value of Mortgage and Finance Broking 2025 Report,” Pannek said.
“With women making up just 27 per cent of brokers, the report highlights a clear opportunity to improve gender diversity in the industry. We are pleased to support this initiative; it aligns with the Association’s goal of fostering a more diverse industry that better reflects the communities it serves across Australia.”
The number of female brokers in the industry has increased to its highest level since 2018, according to MFAA research published in January, but the proportion of women in the industry has dropped slightly.
Compared to the overall broker population, the percentage of female brokers was 26.7 per cent in March 2024 (the most recent figures available), down 0.2 percentage points year on year.
The number of new female recruits also fell, in both volume and proportion, period on period.
Commenting on the impact that the aggregator is having on boosting female broker numbers, Finsure’s northern region head of sales and Women in Finsure co-chair, Noushig Megerditchian, said: “Our Women in Finsure platform supports achieving equality throughout the Finsure network and the financial services sector as a whole.”
The scholarship program’s launch comes in the same month that Finsure announced a new white label program that will enable Finsure brokers to offer clients Finsure-branded bridging loans up to $8 million.
The aggregator has continued to grow in recent months, with its loan book up by more than one-quarter over the past year for the December quarter.
To find out more about how women are making an impact on the broking industry, join us for an afternoon at the Women in Finance Network Lunch, where industry peers gather to create connections that really matter.
Two-time world champion and four-time Commonwealth champion, Jana Pittman, will keynote the lunch, with ANZ as the principal partner. Secure your ticket now!
[Related: Female broker numbers growing, but more progress needed: MFAA]
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