Australia's broking industry turned its attention to diversity on Tuesday.
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia's (MFAA) hosted its biennial event, the 2026 "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit," at The Collider in Sydney's Haymarket suburb with roughly a hundred people in attendance. The event was in partnership with Liberty and Mortgage Choice.
Speakers included MFAA Chief Executive Officer Anja Pannek, Liberty Financial's Chief People Officer Anne Bastian, REA Group's General Counsel Financial Services Scott Stierli, and the Australian Human Rights Commission's Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman. Shirley Chowdhary served as MC of the event.
Opening the summit, Pannek reflected on the industry's first DEI summit, and the progress the industry has made since.
"Two years ago, in 2024, we came together as part of the first DEI summit for our industry. And on that day I said I hoped it would be the start of what we would see as a real shift on the importance of DEI and how we thought about inclusivity for our industry. This is about the future sustainability of our industry," Pannek said. "And I think, if we fast forward two years [ago] to now, that conversation is more important than ever. DEI in 2026, like I said in 2024, it's not about a label; it's not about a trend."
This year's summit was centred on the theme of "opening doors," which the CEO said carried particular relevance in the current environment.
"Brokers open doors," Pannek said. "They open the first door for a homeowner. They open, maybe, the next house as a family changes, as something in their circumstances changes. Or they open a door for a business to grow and employ more people.
"Which leads me to the question, and why we're here today, which is: if we're really good at opening doors for Australians, are we equally as good at opening doors for people in this industry?" she continued. "And once people get to that open door and they come into the industry, how do they feel? Do they feel welcome? Do they feel respected? Do they feel their perspective is also valued and they can contribute to being fully themselves? Because inclusivity and diversity is, I think, opening the door. But also what happens when you get in and around the industry?"
Pannek addressed this year's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion survey. The results came from 442 respondents in the industry, and found that industry views are divided.
While 63% believe diversity is important, only 57% of respondents think leaders demonstrate inclusive behaviors.
The results were equally divided among genders. While 92% of women say diversity is important, only 59% of men feel the same way. Moreover, 74% of respondents say women are underrepresented in Australia's mortgage broking industry, while only 22% of men say the same thing. Similarly, only 31% of female respondents say the industry broadly reflects the communities it serves, while 58% of men say the industry reflects the community.
"This is a massive divide in terms of the lens through which you see the world," Pannek said.
"This is reflecting the reality of how people are in our industry more broadly, and it is something that, even though it might make us feel uncomfortable, we have to sit with," she added.
Pannek introduced some practical action steps that she said the industry can do collectively. They include:
"Wherever we land and whatever we do, it has to be practical and reasonable," Pannek said. "And it has to actually be practical and reasonable for small business owners, because this is what our industry is. It is overwhelmingly an industry of small businesses."
