From fintechs to wine makers and toy brands, these 50 employers show what happens when flexibility, fair pay and women in leadership become table stakes.
From pioneering fintech leaders like Docusign and Prospa, to household names (especially if your household is like our households) like Brown Family Wine Group, Mattel, carsales and Jetts Fitness, the 2026 list spans across all industries and sizes.
What connects them isn’t size or sector. It’s the deliberate, measurable decision to build workplaces where fairness is operational. To qualify in 2026, organisations needed at least 100 employees, with women comprising a minimum of 30% of the workforce and 20% of management.
Real woman, giving confidential employee feedback through the globally recognised Great Place to Work Trust Index™ survey is what helps decide the list — alongside a detailed analysis of women’s representation across organisational levels and additional data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
“These companies aren’t marking their own homework,” says Rebecca Moulynox, General Manager of Great Place To Work Australia and New Zealand. “This list only champions employers that back their commitments on flexibility, fair pay and women in leadership with real numbers and real experiences.”
Who Made The 2026 List and Why?
The data from this year’s cohort points to four things the strongest organisations are getting right. The first is transparency around pay and progression. At Bizcap for example, one of the companies to place this year (the list is not ranked – it’s just the 50 best in no particular order)they believe regular remuneration reviews maintain equity across comparable roles.
SEE THE FULL LIST AUSTRALIA’S BEST WORKPLACES™ FOR WOMAN 2026 HERE
At Jetts Fitness, ambiguity around advancement has been removed entirely. “Career progression is supported by clear leadership pathways and transparent development opportunities,” the company spokesperson told us says. “Women in our organisation understand what is required to grow, and advancement is based on capability and impact.”
The second is development that doesn’t wait for the corner office. Mattel wraps structured coaching around parental leave, before, during and after, so women return with momentum rather than the quiet dread of having to prove themselves from scratch. EML Group’s internal academy lets employees gain qualifications while working. Brown Family Wine Group runs mentoring programs across all levels. The investment is early, consistent, and not reserved for people who already have the ear of the CEO.
Third, AI as a genuine equaliser. carsales has embedded AI fluency across all functions for years, “a practical, everyday capability rather than a specialist track,” they say, giving women access to tools that sharpen their current roles and open future ones. At MESHKI, women leaders are directly involved in selecting and governing the AI tools their teams use, ensuring the technology reflects how the work is actually done rather than how someone imagines it might be done.
And fourth, built in belonging, noting bolted on. At Story House Early Learning, where women make up 94% of the workforce, wellbeing and recognition are woven into daily operations. Tapestry’s Women of Tapestry resource group connects women across brands and geographies. Brown Family Wine Group’s Women in Wine and Women in Leadership networks create mentoring structures that outlast any single leader or reorganisation.
“These are workplaces that aren’t just waiting for equity to happen,” Moulynox says. “They’ve genuinely embedded fairness into everyday decision-making.”
After The Celebration Comes The Data
Off the masses of data from the list, and landing just in time for International Women’s Day this Sunday, Great Place To Work also published The Fair Go Gap: A Snapshot Of Australian Women & Work In 2026, a research report built on the voices of 73,671 women across Australia.
Women across industries and career stages, answering 60 workplace statements about everything from pay to purpose, favoritism to belonging, in complete honestly. The patterns and data points that emerged are, depending on your current employment situation, either reassuring or kinda a lot to sit with over lunch.
People Also Ask
What is Australia’s Best Workplaces™ for Women 2026 list?
Australia’s Best Workplaces™ for Women 2026 is an annual list that recognises 50 organisations across Australia that are creating workplaces where women can genuinely thrive in their everyday experience. It highlights employers that combine strong business performance with high trust, flexibility, fair pay and real opportunities for women at all levels of the organisation.
Who creates Australia’s Best Workplaces™ for Women 2026 list?
Australia’s Best Workplaces™ for Women 2026 list is produced by Great Place To Work®, the global authority on workplace culture that works with thousands of organisations around the world. Great Place To Work® uses its Trust Index™ employee survey, combined with a rigorous list methodology, to evaluate how women actually experience their workplace. This process ensures the list reflects real voices and consistent patterns, not just policy documents or marketing. For both jobseekers and HR leaders, this makes the list a credible signal of high‑trust, inclusive cultures.
How is the 2026 Best Workplaces™ for Women list decided?
The 2026 list is decided through a detailed review of confidential survey feedback from women employees using the Trust Index™, combined with data on women’s representation across roles and levels. Analysts look at whether women experience high levels of trust, respect and fairness in their day‑to‑day work, and whether these experiences are consistent across different groups of women. They also consider factors like access to development, leadership accountability and flexibility. Organisations must perform strongly on these measures compared with their peers to earn a place on the list.
How many companies are on Australia’s Best Workplaces™ for Women 2026 list?
There are 50 organisations on Australia’s Best Workplaces™ for Women 2026 list. These companies span different sizes, sectors and ownership structures, but they share a commitment to creating a culture where women can succeed and feel valued. For jobseekers, this number is large enough to provide meaningful choice across industries, while still being selective enough to signal a high bar. For employers, being one of only 50 recognised sends a strong message to talent, customers and investors about the strength of their workplace culture.
What criteria do companies need to meet to qualify for the list?
To qualify for inclusion, companies first need to meet basic eligibility criteria, such as a minimum number of employees and a minimum number of women in the workforce. They also need to have enough women respondents in the Trust Index™ survey so that results are reliable. Beyond these thresholds, companies are evaluated on how women rate their experience of trust, fairness, respect, pride and camaraderie at work, and on indicators such as women’s representation in management and senior roles. The bar is set to ensure recognised organisations are performing strongly, not just meeting minimum compliance.
What makes these workplaces some of the best for women?
These workplaces stand out because women consistently report that they are treated fairly, supported to grow and given flexibility to succeed at work and in life. Policies like hybrid work, paid parental leave or mentoring programs only translate into recognition when women say they actually feel included, safe and respected. Many of the listed organisations also show strong pathways for women into decision‑making roles, transparent pay practices and leaders who are held accountable for inclusion. This combination of culture, opportunity and structure is what sets them apart as some of the best workplaces for women in Australia.
How can an organisation be considered for future Best Workplaces™ for Women lists?
To be considered for future lists, an organisation first needs to participate in the Great Place To Work® Certification™ process and run the Trust Index™ survey with its employees. This gives a robust snapshot of how people, including women, experience their workplace. The organisation must meet eligibility thresholds and consent to be evaluated for recognition lists. Beyond that, leadership teams typically need to commit to ongoing improvements in inclusion, flexibility and equitable opportunity, because list selection is competitive and based on relative performance. Organisations that intentionally track and respond to women’s feedback are better placed to be recognised in future years.
