Australian Financial Review engages female business leaders with awards event

By Lauren Vadnjal Head of Audience Engement Nine Publishing (The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times, WAtoday, and AFR Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Connect As Australia's most trusted newspaper brand, The Australian Financial Review (AFR) plays a crucial role in highlighting issues and advocating for change within Australia's business community.One argument the Financial Review has long advocated for, through both its agenda-setting journalism and programme of premium business summits and events, is the need for platforms that support, inspire, and advance women in leadership roles across Australia.The invitation-only awards event brought together women from 63 organisations.More women than ever are now leading Australia's top companies; however, the top ranks of the ASX200 are still dominated by men. Women continue to face unique challenges in career progression, access to networks, and equitable representation in senior positions.The 2025 Board Diversity Index, a comprehensive analysis of diversity and inclusion across the top 300 companies on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), shows that, while there has been some improvement in the proportion of female directors on boards (rising from 21% to 37% in the past eight years), it is still far from parity.There has been a decrease in female CEOs at ASX 300 companies, with only 25 chief executives in 2024, down from 26 in 2023. Across the top 300 companies, only one in eight CEO appointments in 2024 were female, compared to one in four in 2023, highlighting the failure of boards to identify and develop female talent for future leadership positions.That's why, in 2024, The Australian Financial Review launched the Women in Leadership Awards.Purpose of the programmeThe programme aimed to highlight and celebrate the work and achievements of women poised to enter the upper echelons of Australian public life. It recognised outstanding contributions in sectors including financial services, health, government, resources, education, and tech.However, the purpose was not simply to publicly recognise these women, but to leverage the Financial Review's full ecosystem to promote and strengthen the outcomes for all those involved.The Women in Leadership Awards also helped us target an audience we are keen to grow: women. Like many news organisations, women are under-represented in our subscriber base, a trend we are determined to change.The executionAfter a successful inaugural event, the Women in Leadership Awards programme returned, bigger and better, in 2025.The 2025 programme was launched with a six-week marketing campaign to build awareness and drive entries, amplifying this important narrative to AFR subscribers and beyond.This resulted in more than 1,000 entries being received (the highest number of entries the Financial Review has received for any of its programmes), which were then reviewed by a panel of hand-picked judges who are leaders in their respective industries.The invitation-only awards night event was held at the Sydney Opera House, with 150 attendees from 63 different organisations, 40% of which held C-Suite or equivalent titles.The event provided:Inspirational insights: A diverse line-up of prominent female leaders and changemakers shared their journeys, reflections, and practical strategies for success with AFR Boss editor Sally Patten on stage.Networking opportunities: A cocktail event facilitated meaningful connections between attendees whilst fostering mentorship, collaboration, and peer support.Thought leadership: The event served as a forum for discussing pressing issues impacting women in the workforce, contributing to the broader national conversation about gender equality and leadership.The evening achieved its outcomes of equipping attendees with the knowledge, confidence, and connections necessary to thrive in their own careers and drive positive change across their organisations and communities. A post-event survey indicated a 92% satisfaction rate, with 88% of attendees reporting enhanced professional networks, and 85% feeling more equipped to tackle leadership challenges.The contentThe following day, the 37 winners and leaders were recognised in a special report published in the Financial Review's digital and print editions. This coverage was amplified across the Financial Review's Web site, newsletters, social media posts, and apps, directly promoting the achievements of winners and furthering the dialogue.Honorees shared the news of their professional accolades with their own audiences, spreading the message even further.The attendees at the Women in Leadership event also shared celebratory posts on social media, amplifying the programme to their own networks via LinkedIn and beyond. This resulted in substantial reach beyond our subscriber base, with 25% of new audience views finding the articles via social media channels.The programme also represented positive commercial outcomes for the business and partners. Commercial partners, who were meaningfully integrated into the event via category sponsorship, judging, and marketing, were given the opportunity to align with a premium, impactful initiative and connect directly with a highly influential and aspirational demographic.Qantas came on board as presenting partner, and CEO Vanessa Hudson was the keynote speaker at the event, helping align the airline's brand with recognising, developing, and promoting female leaders.The wider pictureThe Financial Review's commitment to our female audience goes beyond events. Here are a few other initiatives the newsroom has been working on:Imagery reviewUsing an innovative, AI-powered data project, our team analysed a year's worth of Financial Review articles. The project scanned and categorised thousands of images, identifying whether the primary subject was a man, woman, or a neutral image with multiple subjects.After our data team manually verified a sample of 200 images for accuracy, the results were clear: Men were featured in our articles significantly more often than women. This insight, which came directly from our own content, has been invaluable in helping us recalibrate our strategy to better reflect and serve our female readership.Audience researchWith a goal to grow our female readership, a cross-functional team ran a project aimed at deepening our understanding of this audience. As part of a series of experiments, an intercept survey ran alongside specially commissioned content to capture gender data and evaluate how well it resonated with a female audience.The results showed that focused commissioning works for engaging this audience. They also highlighted the need for regular playbacks and coordination across cross-functional teams.Written in collaboration with the Australian Financial Review team. 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About Lauren Vadnjal Lauren Vadnjal is head of audience engagement at Nine Publishing (The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times, WAtoday, and AFR) in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lauren can be reached at [email protected]. Related Articles The Quint explores the hidden pressure on women to become organ... 24 August 2025 Shelly Walia Austin American-Statesman amplifies local music with Austin Cit... 19 August 2025 Evan McGee The Hindu's Made of Chennai campaign leverages the power of pri... 6 August 2025 Srimathi Sridha... Belga.share redefines media collaboration 31 July 2025 Tom Wuytack Agricultural event organised by Amar Ujala features experts, in... 21 July 2025 Himanshi Sharma Bold ideas, big brands are reshaping marketing, branding in Sou... 17 July 2025 Earl J. Wilkins... ABP creates lasting family memories with the Maaza Grand Pujo P... 15 June 2025 Nayanika Brahma El Comercio's ContentLab takes branded content to the streets 11 May 2025 Miguel A. Ugaz ... 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