New report: Women hold the key to unlocking greater philanthropy on the cusp of $5.4 trillion wealth transfer

Australian women are emerging as a defining force in the next era of philanthropy, with new national research highlighting the need for the sector to evolve with women’s growing economic influence and unlock their potential to address some of the country’s most pressing challenges.

Landmark research released by the She Gives campaign — and officially launched today at a reception hosted by Governor-General Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC — reveals women already shape much of Australia’s charitable decision-making and are set to control the majority of the nation’s $5.4 trillion wealth transfer, significantly expanding their influence over where money flows in the decades ahead.

While philanthropy is often associated with high-profile male benefactors and large-scale donations, the research finds the sector now has a defining opportunity to modernise its pathways — and its culture — to unlock women’s giving at scale, becoming more accessible, collaborative and aligned with how women choose to engage.

The report, She Gives: Growing Women’s Giving in Australia, is the largest mixed-methods study of women’s giving ever conducted nationally and the second-largest Australian study of giving overall. Based on independent analysis by the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) at the University of Western Australia and drawing on insights from more than 2,000 women across the country, it positions women as a central economic and social force shaping how generosity is practised, sustained and grown across Australian society.

According to the report, the combination of existing decision-making power and rapidly growing economic influence represents one of the most significant — and underutilised — levers to strengthen Australia’s culture of giving at a time of rising community need and increasing pressure on government spending.

Among the key findings:

• Women are highly influential in philanthropic giving, with more than 60% of women who live with a partner saying they always or usually make household giving decisions.  
• More than 80% of women in philanthropic networks and 64% of women nationally say they want to give more. Financial security and feeling overwhelmed by the number of requests featured in top barriers to giving.
• Women’s top reasons for giving include: they care about the cause, they want to make a difference, they trust the organisation or they want to give back. Societal expectations and tax incentives featured amongst the lowest motivations for giving.  
• While nearly half of women in philanthropic networks engage in structured giving including foundations, trusts or collective giving, just 6% of women in the broader national sample do so.
• Women want to have greater knowledge and confidence; financial literacy, role modelling and storytelling were identified as enablers.  

The report suggests expanding awareness of and access to structured giving represents a significant opportunity to strengthen confidence, strategy and long-term impact. It outlines three priorities to grow women’s giving at scale:

1. Build the capacity of the ecosystem to support women’s philanthropic ambitions, including tailored capability development for financial advisers to better support women’s giving ambitions and clearer, more accessible pathways into structured giving.
2. Strengthen collective and community-based models, recognising that many women prefer to give collaboratively and that shared approaches can mobilise greater impact.
3. Recognise women’s crucial role in giving, including greater recognition and visibility in national honours and media coverage to ensure women’s contributions are accurately reflected in Australia’s public narrative.

In her foreword for She Gives: Growing Women’s Giving in Australia, the Governor-General described the research as both a celebration and a call to action.

“Australia’s history is rich with the contributions of women whose acts of service, generosity and care have strengthened our communities,” she said. “By studying their stories, She Gives helps Australian women tell a national story where the diversity, power and strength of women’s giving are visible and valued.

“The insights captured in the She Gives research form the basis of three important recommendations, including the need for wider recognition of women’s crucial role in giving. As Chancellor of the Order of Australia, I am deeply committed to raising awareness of the opportunity of our national honours system as a means of recognising exceptional Australian women for their outstanding contributions and generosity.” 

The Australian Government has set a national goal to double giving by 2030, recognising that despite being one of the world’s wealthiest nations, Australians gave $13.4 billion to charity in the 2022 financial year, representing just 0.81% of GDP — less than half the level of New Zealand[i]. Only 53% of Australians with a taxable income over $1 million give to charity and claim a tax deduction, compared with 90% in the US^iv.

She Gives founder Melissa Smith said the scale of opportunity was significant as women are gaining greater economic power, education and equality – three key predicators to growth of giving. Whilst significant barriers and inequalities remain, despite these women are demonstrating extraordinary leadership, power and generosity through their giving. 

“With a generational wealth shift underway, the question is not whether women will shape the future of giving but whether our systems are ready to support them,” Ms Smith said. “Australia’s community sector is facing sustained demand pressures while public funding environments remain constrained. This research shows the vastly unrealised potential of women’s giving; it is already powerful, scalable and far from fully realised. By modernising our structures, strengthening collaboration and building capability across the ecosystem, we can unlock one of the most significant growth opportunities for philanthropy in Australia today.”

Minderoo Foundation co-founder Nicola Forrest AO said: “Throughout history, women have driven change quietly and persistently, often without recognition. Today, we have the opportunity to amplify that impact by ensuring women can lead in shaping solutions. Women bring lived experience, empathy, and collaboration to the way we give. That diversity of thought is essential if we want to tackle complex challenges and create lasting change. When women lead in giving, entire communities benefit.”

Over the past 18 months, She Gives has convened women across the country through national roundtables and shared more than 140 stories from leading women in giving — including The Hon. Julia Gillard AC, Georgina Byron AM, Tanya Hosch AM, Carrie Bickmore OAM and Melissa Doyle AM — and emerging changemakers, reflecting the cultural richness of Australia.

Together, the report and campaign lay the foundation for a new chapter in Australian philanthropy in which women’s leadership, influence and generosity are fully recognised and supported to drive lasting social change.

Please view the full report here. She Gives is grateful for the wisdom and guidance of its advisory group: here

Other relevant data includes:

·        Women’s contributions extend well beyond financial donations. 90% of women in philanthropic networks and 39% of women nationally reported volunteering in the past year.

·        Women now own one-third of all small businesses, with female entrepreneurship growing three times faster than that of men[i]. Female-founded businesses are projected to inject up to $135 billion into the Australian economy, if barriers to growth are addressed[ii].

·        The Australian Government has set a national goal to double giving by 2030, recognising that although we are one of the world’s wealthiest nations, Australians donated 0.75% of their income on average in 2024 compared to 1.04% for people globally.[iii]

·        The number of female millionaires is growing faster than men (5.7% vs. 3.6%), with Australia’s richest 75 women holding a combined $179.59 billion (up 19% from the previous year)[iv].

·        Australians gave $13.4 billion to charity in 2022 financial year, representing 0.81% of Australia’s GDP – less than half of what New Zealanders gave (1.84%) and below the UK (0.96%), Canada (1%) and the US (2.1%).[v]

·        Only 53% of Australians with a taxable income over $1 million give to charity and claim a tax deduction, compared with 90% in the US[vi] and only 1% of Australian inheritances are left to charities as bequests, compared with 3.7% in the UK.[vii]