We sat down with Associate Director – Fund Portfolios, Anne-Louise Wills, for an inspiring conversation in honour of International Women’s Day 2026. This year’s theme, Give to Gain, highlights the idea that advancing gender equality is a shared investment — one that strengthens individuals, organisations, and communities alike.
Given this year’s International Women’s Day theme is ‘Give to Gain’, can you share a time in your career when someone gave their time, guidance, or resources to help you grow and succeed?
The gift of proximity in general has been most valuable. Proximity to the problems themselves, and to the people shaping the solutions, and to the decision-makers whose industry and life experience accelerates progress.
Why are initiatives like International Women’s Day so important for driving change?
The celebration of women is a promotion of life, and its creation. It’s of vital importance that women’s intrinsic value in society is not lost and the same goes for the hard-won gains achieved in terms of general rights and access to education and employment opportunities.
It is not a zero-sum game either: a rising tide lifts all ships. Greater participation of women in the workforce strengthens GDP and improves educational outcomes for future generations. Unpaid household labour and childcare still fall predominantly to women, even as more women move into roles that shape policy and amplify the voices of those who have historically gone unheard.
I believe it’s important for children of all genders – and indeed the broader community – to see examples of strong, ambitious women in their life. It’s worth remembering that stay-at- home mums are working mums too.
You’re a mother of two and an Associate Director. How do juggle the work-home-life balance?
We have to give ourselves permission to set realistic expectations. I’m still learning to how to juggle. With lots of balls in the air, occasionally one will drop. Children will remember how they felt when growing up, not whether the house was always spotless. Rather than striving for ‘balance’, I lean into current season of life. Right now, that’s messy, loud and lots of late nights. Notwithstanding that, mother guilt does creep in!
Women are natural multi-taskers and become experts in pivoting seamlessly between modes and in response to changing demands and situations. This ability is ‘switch gears’ quickly is a skill for the workplace too, especially in such dynamic times.
Can you tell us about your career journey and how you arrived at your current role?
I ‘fell into’ property finance over 15 years ago. Having completed a double major at Melbourne University in psychology and political science, the worlds of property and finance weren’t on the original road map. But opportunities have a way of presenting themselves – sometimes a case of right place, right time. The skills and knowledge gained from my degree served me well then, as they do now, but it was a steep learning curve and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Working in businesses earlier in the evolution often meant wearing ‘multiple hats’ and provided a unique opportunity to gain a depth and breadth of exposure that I wouldn’t necessarily have had joining a large corporate with delineated roles and hierarchies.
For a period of 18 months, I did leave the finance industry to focus on more of a pure property marketing role interstate but missed the finance aspect too much (and Melbourne coffee!). Property finance is a unique combination. There is something tangible as the end outcome. And the double the network too: as the sector intersects the both the property and the finance industries.
Positions I’ve held have spanned executive support, operations, client services, marketing, investor relations and product development. That trajectory has been indispensable. It served to make me well-rounded and to understand how all the various cogs work within funds management. This knowledge has supported me to step into my current role, where attention to detail matters just as much as keeping sight of the bigger picture.
What challenges have you faced along the way and how did you overcome them?
We do best when we bring our whole selves to work. As a young woman in a male-dominated industry, I sometimes felt I needed to work twice as hard to be taken seriously. That showed up even in how I dressed and presented myself: corporate, monochromatic, and very conservative. It was only when a senior woman joined the firm that I was with at the time and became my manager that I realised I had permission to show more personality. Seeing her do so gave me the confidence to do the same. Research supports this too: authenticity is essential to developing and sustaining trust with clients and colleagues, and trust is a key differentiator in whether someone chooses to follow you as a leader.
In your experience, what are some of the unique challenges women face in leadership in the finance sector?
While imposter syndrome is reported by both men and women as they move up the career ladder, I think women often experience deeper and more persistent self-doubt, particularly in a sector that has been historically dominated by men.
For women with children, traditionally the burden of household labour and primary caregiving also fall disproportionately to us. That can create a crushing load – not to mention the unrelenting invisible cognitive load – for women striving to have successful career and an enjoyable motherhood experience. Finance is a fast‑paced industry (the 24‑hour news and market cycle doesn’t stop) but we are human, not machines. Protecting time for sleep, exercise, and basic wellbeing remains a constant challenge, especially for women.
Maintaining skills, knowledge, and networks during maternity leave or career breaks is another challenge that women navigate more frequently.
How has the landscape for women in finance evolved since you began your career?
More women are entering the industry at a younger age, staying longer and breaking through the glass ceiling. This has been wonderful to see. There are now more opportunities for connection and development, from women in finance breakfasts and networking events to informal and formal mentoring and, more recently, more flexible work arrangements. We are living and working longer though, so senior executives (traditionally men) are retiring later. This means competition for top roles will likely intensify in the years ahead.
What steps can we take to accelerate progress toward greater female representation in executive positions?
In the West, we need to be better “villagers”. It takes a village to raise children, and it take a village to support women into leadership roles. That means when you’re able to give, be that time, a thoughtful gift, wisdom, or an act of service – or just even some words of encouragement – do so!
Initiatives such as Women in Numbers are doing wonderful things to advance female representation in executive leadership and to improve financial literary among girls and women of all ages. Education remains one of the most powerful levers for long-term change.