Chief Executive Women (CEW), an organisation dedicated to addressing the under-representation of women in leadership, says data from its annual senior executive census is sobering.
The analysis of ASX 300 companies found women hold just 10 per cent of CEO roles, while nearly half have no women positioned for CEO in senior executive roles.
There are 18 companies with no women in their executive leadership team, and one quarter went backwards in women's representation this year.
Popular jewellery and accessories retailer Lovisa is one of the companies with no women in executive decision-making roles, while its customers and staff are predominantly female.
Women make up 94 per cent of the Lovisa workforce, yet there is a gender pay gap of 51.9 per cent, according to the most recent Workforce Gender Equality Agency report.
CEW has been compiling its census for almost 10 years, but this year's "disappointing" results showed reporting data was not enough when it came to tackling gender inequality, president Helen Conway said.
"In any business objective, if performance lags then generally boards intervene but this doesn't seem to happen when gender equality slows," she told AAP.
"Organisations should set targets and those targets should be tied to executive remuneration, so that there is accountability and transparency."
Research shows having a female CEO is associated with a five per cent increase in market value, which is worth $79.6 million on average.
Companies with gender-diverse executive teams are 21 per cent more likely to experience above-average profitability.
Australia has made meaningful progress on gender equality in the workplace, with the gender pay gap at a historic low and more requirements to keep employees safe from harassment.
Women hold the most senior financial roles in government, including the Reserve Bank, Productivity Commission, and Treasury secretary.
Yet too many organisations were treating gender equality as optional, Ms Conway said.
"What is worrying in Australia is the tendency to revert to work cultures that are inimical to women, such as requiring executives to be on call 24/7 or take meetings on weekends," she said.
CEW wants companies to set a 40:40:20 target - 40 per cent women, 40 per cent men and 20 per cent any gender - by 2030, linked to executive compensation and performance metrics.
It also wants companies to proactively plan long-term succession and promotion pathways and recognise valuable leadership capabilities in jobs other than profit and loss roles.
"There is a very narrow perspective in some organisations about the profile needed for a CEO, but the skills needed for leadership these days go beyond financial, there are a lot of other skills a CEO needs to have," Ms Conway said.
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