The mortgage industry has been challenged to increase gender diversity following a recent international broking conference which heard “we cannot afford to leave talent on the sidelines”.

The International Mortgage Brokers Federation (IMBF) conference in Dublin in May 2025 resulted in a white paper highlighting the risks associated with a heavily male-dominated industry.

IMBF Chair and Finance Brokers Association of Australasia (FBAA) managing director Peter White AM said while technology and AI might dominate the headlines, the persistent gender imbalance in mortgage broking continues to hinder progress, innovation, and representation across the market.

Mr White said despite its relationship-driven and often flexible nature, some still have a perception that broking is high-pressure, financially risky, and unsuitable for women seeking balance or re-entering the workforce.

“Men continue to dominate the broking profession,” he said.

“But with more mentoring and sponsorship, we can attract and retain more women to mortgage broking, which stands to benefit from the skills and experience they bring to the profession.”

The IMBF call to increase female representation coincides with the release of the FBAA 2025 Broker Density Report, which reveals the number of women entering the industry is rising.

While the report shows males continue to dominate the industry, the number of female brokers increased to almost 6,500, representing a gender split of 70/30, compared to 72/28 in 2024.

The IMBF conference heard that some countries have started to formalise mentoring programmes for brokers, however many still depend on informal networks which are often male dominated.

One conference participant noted, “There are plenty of women entering the field, but few stick with it. Mentoring is what helps you stay.”

From the conference roundtable conversation, five clear recommendations emerged to advance the industry:

1. Make women visible: Use industry campaigns to highlight diverse, genuine stories of women excelling in broking across various life stages, roles, and business models.
2. Mentor and sponsor intentionality: Formalise structured mentoring programmes and incentivise senior mortgage brokers to support new female entrants by providing access to networks, leads, and opportunities.
3. Monitor what matters: Mortgage broker associations should publish data on participation and progress by gender and region, establish benchmarks, and celebrate achievements.
4. Support the transition: Reduce financial and psychological barriers to entry.
5. Rebrand the profession: Change the story from hustle culture to professional independence, relationship-building, and significant impact—values that resonate widely, including with women.

Mr White said it must be noted that the representation of women varied between countries and referenced the number of female brokers nominated for awards at the association’s recent national conference.

“It was pretty clear that while women might represent 30 per cent of our industry, they also represent a much larger percentage of higher performing brokers,” he said.