As a girl, you’d have been asked this at some point: what do you want to be when you grow up? Some of us knew straight away. Some of us had no idea. Careers have a way of rolling along regardless. Job opportunities come, and we step up. Some of us chase the dream we held onto. Others fall into a job and watch it become a career.
Wherever your path has led, the numbers show there’s more than personal choice at stake. Australia’s national gender pay gap sits at 11.2%. That’s down 0.9 percentage points on last year, but it’s still a very real and very significant difference. Men are 1.8 times more likely to be in the top quarter of earners (averaging $221,000), while women are 1.4 times more likely to be in the bottom quarter (around $60,000), according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency‘s 2026 employer report.
For women trying to navigate a patriarchal labour system, getting formal recognition for what you already know how to do is a useful tool to help climb the ladder. Recognition of prior learning (RPL) gives you recognised qualifications for the responsibilities you’ve completed.
Currently, only 23% of Churchill Education’s RPL graduates are women, against a workforce where women make up 47%. That gap is closing, but slowly. We’d like to see more women prioritising their own career development and getting formally recognised for work they’re already doing.
Perhaps you’re looking to make the most of your career experience. Perhaps it’s time to step into your next promotion or a career change. Or perhaps you’re simply wondering where to begin. Whatever brought you here, we’ve been helping women at exactly these career moments since 2006, and in that time we’ve built a clear picture of which qualifications employers value most, and which ones our female graduates are actually converting their experience into.
“You’ve been doing the work, learning on the job, figuring things out as you go. That counts for more than you think.” — Kristie Melling, who used RPL to move from self-taught marketer to a Graduate Diploma of Strategic Leadership
Here are the top 4 RPL qualifications sought by our female graduates, and some inspiration from Churchill alumni who’ve done it.
Top 4 RPL qualifications for women
1. BSB50420 Diploma of Leadership and Management
The BSB50420 Diploma of Leadership and Management shows employers you have genuine business skills, team leadership and organisational planning combined. It signals you can balance business growth against the day-to-day work of managing people and performance.
Possible career outcomes:
- Project Manager/Supervisor
- Operations Manager
- Business Manager
- Production Supervisor
Want to go further? The BSB60420 Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management builds on the same base.
“You know what? We do have transferrable skills, and we really should be recognised for them.” — Tracey Pelling, former Queensland Police officer and RAAF reservist, now a mining investigations officer, on turning her defence and policing career into leadership qualifications through RPL
2. BSB51319 Diploma of Work Health and Safety
The BSB51319 Diploma of Work Health and Safety formalises what many women already do in construction, mining, council and operations roles, identifying risk and keeping people safe. It’s one of the most in-demand RPL conversions we see.
Possible career outcomes:
- WHS Officer
- WHS Coordinator
- WHS Advisor
- Compliance Officer
Also available: the BSB60619 Advanced Diploma of Work Health and Safety.
“I didn’t think my experience would count for much because I didn’t have formal education. But the process showed me that everything I had done actually mattered. When I received my qualification, it was emotional.” — Michelle Worth, now a Graduate Work Health and Safety Officer
3. BSB50320 Diploma of Human Resource Management
The BSB50320 Diploma of Human Resource Management recognises skills in recruitment, performance management, workplace relations and HR compliance, capability many women have built up over years without ever holding the paper to prove it.
Possible career outcomes:
- HR Advisor
- HR Business Partner
- People and Culture Manager
- Recruitment Manager
Also available: the BSB60320 Advanced Diploma of Human Resource Management.
4. BSB50120 Diploma of Business
The BSB50120 Diploma of Business is the broadest of the four, covering everything from operations to compliance to digital transformation. Churchill also offers it as a specialisation, Business (Leadership), Business (Operations), Business (Organisational Development), Business (Compliance), Business (Business Development) and Business (Digital Transformation), so it can match your actual specialty rather than a generic label.
Possible career outcomes:
- Business Manager
- Operations Manager
- Business Development Manager
Also available: the BSB60120 Advanced Diploma of Business.
You already have more than you think
“What you think your skill level is and what it actually is are two different things. RPL shows you what you’ve already earned.” — Kerrie Barnes, Risk and Compliance Lead at the Gold Coast Suns
Where These Qualifications Can Take You
These four qualifications can help women find a stable and well-paying career. See what each qualification can mean for your career:
- Diploma of Leadership and Management: typically leads from supervisor-level roles into Operations Manager or General Manager, often paired with the Advanced Diploma to get there.
- Diploma of Work Health and Safety: WHS Coordinators and Advisors commonly progress into a dedicated WHS Manager or Head of Safety role, particularly in construction, mining and logistics.
- Diploma of Human Resource Management: moves from HR Advisor through Business Partner into HR Manager or People and Culture Director, once you’ve built a track record across recruitment, employee relations and compliance.
- Diploma of Business: the broadest of the four, so graduates tend to specialise as they progress — some toward Operations, others toward Business Development or Digital Transformation leadership.
In every case, the RPL pathway gets you the qualification first; the career trajectory from there follows the same route as anyone else who holds it.
Grants and Scholarships for Women Upskilling in Australia
Funding support for women upskilling varies by state, so check what’s available where you live:
- Queensland: The Women’s Career Grants program offers up to $4,999 to unemployed women (out of work six months or more) to cover training, recertification and other return-to-work costs.
- Western Australia: the Women in Non-Traditional Trades (WiNTT) Scholarship provides a one-off $5,000 payment for women training in male-dominated industries like construction, engineering and mining through WA TAFE.
- ACT: the Women’s Return to Work grant offers up to $1,000 (or $2,000 for women leaving the Alexander Maconochie Centre) toward course fees and other return-to-work costs for women with low or no income.
If you’re outside these states, or want support that isn’t tied to your postcode, the Churchill Education Scholarship is available to eligible candidates regardless of location — check your eligibility as part of your free RPL Appraisal.