You’re the voice

If you’re a female in the mortgage broking world you’re in the minority - with only around one in every four brokers women.

One of the most influential industries globally, finance was traditionally a male dominated industry, and while it has changed in certain subsets there is still work to be done in the mortgage broking space.

The latest research from the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia shows in the last reporting period there was 26.6 per cent (3,547) female brokers in the country, similar but slightly down in the reporting period prior 26.9 per cent (3,208) – indicating there is still more work to be done.

Established in 2018, the Doyenne Program is ANZ's Women in Broking Education initiative, selecting 20 female brokers each year to participate based on their leadership skills, behaviour, experience and respect in the industry.

The program offers the women a platform to amplify their voices and access the tools and training necessary to refine their leadership abilities, cultivate a growth mindset, and gain the business acumen essential for their broking businesses to thrive.

By increasing the visibility of women working in mortgage broking, it encourages the next generation of women to consider it as a career pathway. At the same time, it inspires those already in the industry to become more visible, and not pass up opportunities to their male counterparts. 

Inspiring journey

Sarah Wells, who has run her own broking practice since 2004, was part of ANZ’s 2019 Doyenne cohort.

Sarah says she ended up in broking by accident, when she went for a job as a polo pony groomer for someone who also happened to own a mortgage franchise. They thought she would be a great mortgage broker.

“Many think I designed a career in finance,” she says.

“It was polo and a chance meeting, along with a great deal of patience and education from some of our industries greatest - that is the reason I am here thriving 26 years on.”

This opportunity taught Sarah many lessons as she quickly realised how clients are often very capable and intelligent people who found themselves needing an advocate to help educate, guide, and then support them in making decisions.

She realised that her curiosity, planning abilities and the desire to really get to know her clients helped them navigate a process that is often driven by emotions and never came at the right time.

Her advice to young women considering a career in broking is to engage the part of themselves that is caring and driven by purpose, while being aware that to thrive you also must know your values.

“I think women have valuable soft skills, with things like relationship building. That desire to understand the person and really have connecting conversations helps to fulfill peoples’ needs.”

Sarah says many lessons were not easy.

“To not take the losses personally and to be comfortable with failure I coined the term ‘snakes and ladders’ some days I climb a ladder to then slide down a snake and have to go back and start over.”

She also says she had a supportive network of men in the industry.

“They pushed me because they recognise the value that women bring to this industry, along with acknowledging some of the challenges we create ourselves.”

“And I always remind myself this – there is no gender wage gap in my industry I get paid the same as everyone else based on my results.”

“I took that as the best evidence of success, how I chose to do it is up to me.”

Sarah says the Doyenne program was a huge influence and inspired her to build a media profile outside the industry.

Her goal included showing all the women in the industry that you can do anything you aspire to. But she says it is important to have a written plan, to ask for help, work hard, and accept that you will need to fail before you succeed and work to exceed your own expectations of yourself.

“I learned that for your voice to be heard you have to have the courage to have an opinion, but what is hard is that opens you up to criticism.”

Sarah also learned that having a voice was not just about being heard but “being understood and creating change”. “It is about being brave enough to propose solutions not just jump on the soapbox of the problem.”

Evolving the program for 2024

While the Doyenne program was initially aimed to boost brand visibility, communication skills, and digital profiles for women in broking, it was time to refresh and update it after new research and three years with over 40 participants.

This year’s program evolved to extend skills further than just building a personal brand. The program aims to tackle unconscious gender biases and equip women with the tools to understand their strengths, purpose, and build confidence and resilience in the industry.

In 2024, the most recent Opportunities for Women Report (2022) revealed that unconscious beliefs about gender roles in the workplace were the biggest barrier for women working in the broking industry – with 45.52 per cent of women naming it as the biggest barrier.

The recent MFAA research also indicates sole traders often feel lonely, so the aim of the Doyenne program is to build a community and provide a safe, inclusive space for growth and support.

By creating a program like Doyenne, we hope to empower women and to give them the tools required to help them grow as individuals and professionals, identify what’s required to help them run successful businesses and create a community of Doyenne’s/ women in the industry that can support each other to grow.

Research from Workplace Gender Equality Agency, shows that the national workforce is 51per cent female skewed and 52 per cent in the finance and insurance sectors; a far cry from the 26 per cent in the mortgage broking sector.

Boosting the number of women in broking continues to be a challenge for the industry, but awareness is growing, and progress is being made through initiatives such as the ANZ Doyenne Program and the newly launched ANZ Brokerology learning platform - content dedicated to broker education.

Doyenne is a French feminine word meaning most prominently respected woman in a particular field.