Five mortgage and finance broking businesses have been selected for the next phase of She Means, the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) announced. Formerly known as She Means Business, the program aims to lift female participation and leadership in male-dominated industries.
The MFAA is taking part to support broking businesses among its members. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) runs the program, which an extra $4 million in Australian government funding will expand to 120 small businesses over two years.
The intake comes as women continue to make up only about a quarter of Australia’s mortgage brokers.
The participants are Chantel Rangel of Mortgage Choice in New South Wales, Niti Bhargava of GB Financials in Victoria, Teressa Fisk of Your Finance Broker in Queensland, Joanne Walsh of NJK Finance in South Australia, and Gemma Piscioneri of G&T Finance in Western Australia.
They will receive tailored business development support, mentoring, and resources to help them introduce practical initiatives that improve opportunities for women in their businesses.
The new intake follows a nine-month pilot that worked with nine businesses on building leadership capability, improving workplace practices, and running projects to boost female participation.
Melanie Kafka (pictured), the MFAA’s executive for member experience and partnerships, said the pilot showed what targeted support could achieve.
“The success of the pilot demonstrated what can happen when small businesses are given the right support, resources and confidence to invest in their people and their future,” Kafka said.
Broking’s growth has outpaced change in its gender balance. Brokers facilitated a record 81.6% of new residential home loans in the June quarter, and the industry now has more than 24,000 brokers nationally. Yet the share of women has barely shifted from about 27% in recent years, the MFAA said.
Views on the problem are split. The MFAA’s 2026 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Survey, released in September, found 74% of female respondents believed women were under-represented in broking, compared with just 22% of men. Supporting small businesses was among six priority areas the association identified from the results.
Kafka said the industry’s growth created an opportunity to broaden diversity among business owners and leaders.
“This isn’t simply about increasing participation. It’s about supporting women to lead businesses, develop new capabilities, and help shape the future of our industry,” she said.
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