ACCI Women in Small Business Summit

SPEECH

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Shangri-La Sydney

Introduction 

I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Owners of where we meet today. 

I extend that respect to Elders past and present.   

Thank you to ACCI for your invitation to speak here. 

And a particular thank you to chief executive Andrew McKellar.  

It’s a great privilege to be here today in a room of women who are innovating and establishing their own small businesses.  

Today is a great opportunity to share insights and build your networks.  

And I know that later today you’ll be hearing from Abigail Forsyth, the founder of KeepCup.  

Abigail’s spoken about how when she first started developing KeepCup, she thought it would be a nice little side project to do from home while she raised her children.  

But now it has taken off across the world, as a great Australian success story.  

And it’s exciting to think that the next global success is sitting right here in this room.  

Gender Segregated Grants 

That’s why I’m pleased to join you today at the Women in Small Business Summit.  

And it’s why the Albanese Labor Government is pleased to support this event through a grant aimed at advancing gender equality in gender-segregated industries.  

Through this program, ACCI received $2 million to deliver the Future Makers initiative – a program focused on boosting women’s ownership and leadership in small business.  

That funding helped make today’s Summit possible.  

It also supported the development of a research report – which was released this morning.  

And allowed ACCI to establish its Chamber Change program in each state and territory.  

Our Government is investing in programs like this one because we are determined to tackle gender segregation in the economy.  

Unfortunately Australia has some of the highest rates of gender segregation amongst advanced economies.  

Women are concentrated in some industries.  

But under-represented in many more.  

Jobs and Skills Australia published research last year that showed only 1 in 5 Australian workers are in a gender-balanced occupation.  

If we want a more inclusive economy, we have to actively break down the barriers that prevent women from participating in it.  

Barriers that exist at every stage of a woman’s economic journey.  

Whether that’s in education pathways – or access to finance – or workplace cultures.  

Small businesses are not immune to these challenges.  

Australia has more than 2.7 million small businesses.  

They are the engine room of our economy, employing more than five million Australians.  

And contributing more than $500 billion to the economy each year.  

Yet women only own around one-third of those businesses.  

And in male-dominated sectors like construction, just 9 per cent of small businesses are led by women.  

That is not good enough. 

Looking out at this room today, I know that you will agree with me this is not because women lack ideas or ambition.  

And it’s certainly not because women lack capability.  

The reality is many women still encounter structural barriers that make it harder to start, grow and lead businesses.  

Of course this is an issue of equity and fairness.  

Gender segregation has real consequences for women.  

For example, industry segregation accounts for around a quarter of the gender pay gap.  

And we know that pay gaps are largest in the most segregated jobs.  

The gender pay gap is pervasive across the economy.  

ACCI’s research indicates that the median salary for women in small business is only about 83% of the salary earned by men.  

Women also pay themselves a lower percentage of their business’s revenue than men.  

But it’s not just about equity and fairness.  

It’s also bad for the economy.  

Research from the Grattan Institute shows when men and women are channelled into different occupations, productivity suffers and incomes are lower across the economy.  

Occupational shortages get worse as gender segregation intensifies.  

And businesses miss out on the diversity of thinking that drives growth.  

When businesses overlook capable women, they ignore ideas and perspectives that foster growth.  

And when women face barriers to starting their own business – the economy misses out.  

To tackle skills shortages and productivity challenges, we cannot afford to sideline smart, talented people.  

Small business ownership can be an invaluable way to increase women’s economic security and help them remain connected to the workforce.  

Owning and running a small business can offer freedom.  

Freedom to do the school run without guilt or judgement.  

Freedom to support older parents when they need it.  

Being your own boss means you can work around your other commitments.  

And that flexibility and freedom is reflected in their working environment.  

Many female business owners foster flexible environments for their staff, sharing the benefits of work-life balance.  

But despite the opportunities that small business offers, women still face significant hurdles.  

Access to finance remains a top barrier according to research from the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.  

Research by Deloitte showed that 22 per cent of Australian start-ups are founded by women.  

But start-ups founded just by women only receive a tiny proportion of overall funding – less than 1 per cent.  

And that is a major missed opportunity.   

Because that same Deloitte research shows that women-founded start-ups, on average, return 78 cents of revenue per dollar of funding.  

Compared to 31 cents per dollar for male-founded start-ups.  

That is an enormous discrepancy.  

And it shows it is simply smart economics to back women in small business. 

This of course is a story many of you will unfortunately be familiar with.  

We know women often already have the ideas, the drive and the belief.  

They just need to be given the chance to succeed.  

But we also know that mentorship, shared wisdom and networks can make a real difference – especially early in the journey.  

That’s why I am pleased that ACCI has used our grant funding to take the Chamber Change program to a national level.  

This program is designed to help more women start and grow their businesses.  

And I know that some of you here today will have benefited from that program’s focus on leadership development and mentoring.  

It was really encouraging to see the results of those Chamber Change pilots.  

Across each state and territory, 98 per cent of participants said the program had empowered them – and helped set them up for business success. 

Like Montana.  

Montana runs her own small business as a leadership consultant.  

She attended the Chamber Change program in Perth last year, and immediately hit it off with another woman she met at the program.  

Montana has been doing a ‘service swap’ with her: offering leadership sessions in return for knowledge on how to improve her LinkedIn branding.  

This connection has led to a keynote speaking opportunity with a major Perth building company.  

And Montana has had more businesses reaching out to her to collaborate on emotionally intelligent leadership.  

Montana said: “Attending three three-hour seminars truly changed the trajectory of my career.” 

The advice she received from the mentors and champions has been fed into her own life, helping her engage with other working mothers in her social circle.  

And giving her the confidence to put her hand up for work opportunities she previously thought she was unqualified for.  

That is exactly the kind of practical change we want to see.  

Benefits of diversity 

Because whether it’s in big business, small business or in government – including those with different backgrounds in decision-making, including women, delivers major benefits.  

It leads to more ideas.  

Better decision-making.  

And ultimately, better economic outcomes.  

Our Government has delivered funding to help tackle barriers to leadership for women in the private sector, through the Office for Women.  

I am also very proud to be part of the first ever majority-women Cabinet in Australia.  

And we are taking significant steps to improve women’s representation on Australian Government boards.  

The benefits of diversity extend into small business too.  

More women starting their own small business will bring more creativity and innovation to the economy.  

Many of you here today will have seen that in your own work.  

I know some of you will have identified a gap in the market that so many male-led businesses simply hadn’t considered.  

Or maybe you approached a challenge differently because your perspective was different.  

This all leads to thriving businesses and a diversified, thriving economy.  

However, as I mentioned, women face structural barriers not only when setting up or running their own small business.  

But they often face them much earlier, before they’ve even considered such an endeavour. 

Such as pursuing pathways into male-dominated industries.  

For example, construction is one of the largest industries in Australia.  

And it has one of the highest shares of employees working in small businesses.  

But women remain dramatically under-represented.  

Only around 5 per cent of construction apprentices are women.  

And women account for less than 15 per cent of managers in the sector.  

This is not just a fairness issue.  

It’s a productivity issue.  

So I’m really proud that our Government’s record investment in Free TAFE is helping more women enter non-traditional sectors like construction and IT.  

And we’ve overseen a huge increase in women in trade apprenticeships over the last few years, growing over 46 per cent.  

We are also providing specialised, wraparound assistance for female apprentices in male-dominated industries to help them complete their apprenticeship.  

In addition, our Government has also invested in the Building Women’s Careers program.  

That program focuses on driving cultural and structural change in male-dominated industries.  

Because we want to see more female sparkies.  

More women engineers.  

More women plumbers.  

And when we train more women in these trades, we will see more women leading the industries that will shape Australia’s future.  

We also want to see more women staying in those industries.  

Because a woman that is qualified in a trade will then have the opportunity to start her own small plumbing business.  

Or her own small electrical business.  

She can employ her own apprentices.  

She can reap the benefits that come with running a small business – and so will the economy.  

Extension of Gender-Segregated Grants Funding 

Our Government is absolutely focused on breaking down gender segregation.  

And that's why the investments we are making matter.  

While we are making some progress, we know that challenges remain.  

Addressing those challenges will require a collective effort.  

Women cannot solve it alone.  

And nor should they.  

Men must be partners in driving cultural change.  

Employers, industry groups, unions and governments all have a role to play.  

Cultural change is tough. 

So partnerships are a critical element of creating lasting change.  

That’s why our Government is working closely with industry bodies like ACCI.  

Last year we announced a two-year extension to the Gender Segregated Industries grant program.  

And I am pleased to share with you today that under this extension, ACCI has received an additional $4 million over two years to continue the excellent work it has been doing.  

This additional funding will help to build on this successful pilot and scale up to reach even more women.  

And it’s not just ACCI.  

This grant funding is supporting projects all over the country.  

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia will also receive an extension of its funding.  

This will help create industry-specific toolkits to address the under-representation of women in financial services, energy and cyber.  

And will directly support more than 150 employees across Australia. 

The Australian Industry Group will also be using its funding to drive cultural change.  

Their projects will look at the positive impact of gender equality for both workers and businesses in the manufacturing and construction sectors.  

Whether that’s through practical training programs on inclusive team management -  

- or developing tailored policies to support sustainable gender equality practices.  

And the Victorian Trades Hall Council is using their funding to develop targeted training materials that will address OHS risks affecting women.   

Because too many women still face hostile or unsafe working environments, particularly in heavily gender-segregated industries. 

Insights and feedback from all of these programs will drive further improvements on gender equality in the workplace.  

These projects are helping open more pathways for women to start, grow and lead businesses.  

Which, in turn, will improve women’s economic participation and security.  

Because economic security is central to independence, opportunity and choice.  

Our Government wants Australian women to have every chance to participate and succeed in the economy on their own terms.  

And despite the challenges that I have outlined this morning – we are seeing some really positive signs of progress.  

Women’s workforce participation is at record levels.  

The gender pay gap has fallen to its equal lowest level on record at 11.5 per cent.  

And last year, Australia achieved its highest ever position in the World Economic Forum’s global ranking for gender equality.  

Conclusion 

So thank you again for having me here today.  

I hope today’s discussions build your networks.  

Build your confidence.  

And open new opportunities.  

I look forward to seeing the continued impact of initiatives like Future Makers.  

Because breaking down barriers isn’t just good for women.  

It’s good for small business.  

And good for the nation.  

Thank you.