A World-First Step for Women in the Creative Economy
“Creative entrepreneurs are instrumental in pushing the boundaries of innovation … yet female entrepreneurs often face challenges that hinder their ability to start, sustain, and grow their businesses—these include gender bias, limited access to funding, and balancing business responsibilities with familial roles.”– — Ajiva, Ejike & Abhulimen, Empowering Female Entrepreneurs in the Creative Sector (2024)
In a world where creative work has often been undervalued, Australia is taking a bold step. The Creative Women’s Association (CWA) has announced the launch of its Creative Excellence Program (CEP), the first of its kind globally. It isn’t just another leadership program; it’s a new professional standard—designed to build authority, economic frameworks, and industry legitimacy for women working in creativity.
The dominant narrative has long been that creativity is passion, not profession. Women who knit, compose, design, curate, or produce cultural work are often sidelined, their labour dismissed as a “side hustle” or undervalued in economic terms. This devaluation has cost industries billions, stifled innovation, and kept women locked out of leadership and financial independence. The statistics are stark: women dominate the creative workforce in volume, yet remain underrepresented in pay, influence, and systemic recognition.
The CWA lens flips this on its head. The Creative Excellence Program is not about “teaching women to lead” but about acknowledging they already do—and providing the frameworks, certification, and industry pathways to make that leadership visible, legitimate, and powerful. Running across 10 months with immersive learning days, practice-based inquiries, and subject matter experts from Australia and beyond, the program is structured to give women the same authority traditionally reserved for MBAs or executive leadership programs. Participants will graduate as part of the first certified cohort of creative leaders, building a national alumni network with the weight of an institution behind it.
What makes it a game changer is the reframe: creativity here isn’t an “add-on” to the economy. It is the economy. From regenerative fashion and design to music, ecology, health, and cultural systems, these creative disciplines are recognised as engines of innovation, not hobbies. The CEP embeds evidence-informed learning, portfolio building, and sector-wide collaboration, with priority access for regional, rural, and First Nations practitioners. By making excellence visible and certified, CWA is building the scaffolding for a new supported creative economy—one where women’s work is measurable, authoritative, and impossible to ignore.
This is more than a program. It’s a cultural pivot. When the first Creative Excellence cohort graduates in late 2026, it will mark the start of a new professional class: women recognised not only for their creativity, but for their authority to lead industries, design systems, and shape economies. In the entertainment and culture landscape, where women are still fighting for equitable space, the CEP is a line in the sand. From this point forward, creative leadership has a new benchmark—and it belongs to women.
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