Reflecting on her 40 years in finance, Jacki Jennings can see exactly when her doors of opportunity opened – and who opened them. 

The night after the federal Budget dropped, holding court at the Great Hall in Canberra’s Parliament House, she said: 

“When I look back at my career, I can point to moments that changed everything – and almost every one of those moments involved a more senior leader who chose to see me. Who made time. Who opened a door, or held one open long enough for me to walk through.” 

Jennings is Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at La Trobe Financial, the Presenting Partner of the FW La Trobe Financial Budget Dinner at which she now addresses hundreds of women leaders. 

It’s a role she’s earned over four decades at one company – starting at the premier Australian alternative asset manager as a customer service officer.

As she said of her career success, bolstered by her superiors, “That is not luck. That is culture.” 

And to those in the room, she said, it’s time to pay it forward. 

Jacki Jennings addresses the audience at the Great Hall, Parliament House and guests in attendance

“When women reach positions of influence – in finance, in policy, in business – they carry with them a responsibility. Not a burden. A privilege. The privilege of reaching back and bringing others with them.

“Mentorship. Sponsorship. Advocacy. Honest feedback. A phone call that changes someone’s trajectory. These are not small things. These are the mechanisms through which cultures shift and ceilings crack.”

The federal Budget, Jennings said, is the same logic applied at a national scale.

“It is a set of choices – about who we invest in, who we protect, and who we trust to build this country’s prosperity.”

And this year, the Budget gave women a lot to work with.

Measures include a landmark overhaul of the Child Support Scheme to pursue billions in unpaid debt, mostly owed to women, and address loopholes that leave it open to weaponisation. Paid parental leave is stretching toward 26 weeks – and we’ll have better, more affordable access to contraceptives and menopause treatments. 

Later at the Budget Dinner, Senator Katy Gallagher shared that the gender pay gap had hit a record low and Australia’s parliament is, for the first time in history, almost gender-balanced. Many of her fellow female Senators were also in attendance, alongside senior business leaders and advocates. 

“To be standing here, in the Great Hall of Parliament House in a room full of women who lead, who push, and who refuse to stop asking hard questions… it genuinely moves me,” said Jennings. 

“Financial security should not be a privilege – and events like this one, that keep women’s economic futures at the centre of the national conversation, are exactly where we want to be. More women with financial independence mean a stronger economy, stronger families, and a stronger Australia. It really is that simple.”

The way to get there? Jennings says the work is cumulative – in policy and in practice.

“Every woman we sponsor. Every conversation we have. Every seat at the table we pull out for someone who hasn’t yet been invited to sit down. It all adds up.”

Photography credit: Pew Pew Studio