20-years of Fitted for Work driving employment success
27.03.2025 - 05:47
To mark 20 years of Fitted for Work, Mandala Partners conducted an economic analysis to quantify the organisation’s impact. Our findings show that for every $1 invested, Fitted for Work delivers $2.19 in immediate economic benefits, unlocking $86 million in value over two decades by supporting 45,000 clients. The analysis highlights that Fitted for Work reduces job search duration by half compared to the national average, significantly improving employment outcomes. Notably, the organisation has expanded its support for older women, addressing a critical and growing need in the community.
The lasting impact of Fitted for Work
For 20 years, Fitted for Work has been breaking down employment barriers for women and gender-diverse individuals. Our new independent analysis confirms the organisation’s lasting impact: over two decades, Fitted for Work has generated $86 million in net direct economic benefits, delivering a $2.19 return for every $1 invested. With more than 47,000 lives changed and clients securing jobs 26 weeks faster than the national average, the organisation continues to create meaningful pathways to employment.
The challenge: Workforce inequality
Despite progress, unemployment and underemployment remain significant issues for women in Australia. Nearly 300,000 women are unemployed, and over one million are underemployed or seeking work. Even those in jobs continue to face barriers, with the gender pay gap sitting at 21.8% ($28,425 per year) (WGEA, 2025).
Research from the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce (2023) estimates that increasing women’s workforce participation could boost the economy by $128 billion. Beyond financial security, employment fosters independence, social recovery, and stability—particularly for survivors of domestic and family violence.
Building a stronger future
In the past year alone, Fitted for Work has delivered 6,502 client services, partnering with leading fashion retailers ELK, DISSH, and Taking Shape to provide professional outfitting and career support.
To ensure long-term sustainability, the organisation is launching the Future Fund—an endowment designed to strengthen financial stability and direct funding where it is most needed.
To learn more, read the full report here.
Read our latest posts
Unlocking a Virtuous Cycle: Overcoming Barriers to AI in Australian Energy Systems
Mandala's latest research, developed in partnership with Microsoft, examines the barriers to transformative AI adoption in Australia's electricity system. The research finds that AI is one of the few tools able to unlock capacity and efficiency from the existing grid without waiting on new transmission and generation capacity, yet adoption today remains incremental. Three soft barriers, a lack of shared strategy, weak investment incentives and siloed data, are constraining Australia's ability to capture this potential. Overcoming them will require joint action from government, the technology industry and energy utilities to prove AI's value, align policy settings and fund pilots through to deployment.
8 Jul, 2026
Demonstrating the local benefits of AI infrastructure in Wisconsin
Mandala's latest research, prepared for Microsoft, examines the economic impact of hyperscale data center investment on Wisconsin's communities, businesses, and workforce. The research finds that committed data center projects will channel $16.5 billion to local suppliers, support more than 9,000 jobs during construction, and generate lasting economic activity across every county in the state, thereby extending Wisconsin's long tradition of industrial leadership into the AI era.
1 Jul, 2026
The essential infrastructure: How Australian banks power the economy
Mandala's latest research, prepared for the Australian Banking Association, examines the often-hidden role Australian banks play in supporting households, businesses and the broader economy. The research finds that banks are deeply embedded in the financial lives of Australians - as lenders, as community investors, through the jobs they generate and increasingly as assets owned by Australians themselves through shares and superannuation. From financing homes and small businesses to supporting regional communities through hardship and disaster, the report builds a picture of a sector whose success is broadly shared across the Australian population.
17 Jun, 2026
The threat of climate change to the US insurance industry
This joint report by the Coalition for an Insurable Future and Mandala Partners examines how climate change is undermining the stability of the US home insurance market. Homeowners insurance premiums have risen 38% since 2021, outpacing both inflation and wage growth, while 1 in 7 owner-occupied homes are now uninsured. Climate risk could push national premiums 35–107% higher by 2050, leave an additional 1.5–2.5 million households without cover by 2035, and cost the broader economy $1 trillion. The aggregate cost could rise to over $3 trillion by 2050. A preliminary assessment of state-level policy responses across California, Florida, Louisiana, New York and Colorado finds that effectiveness is mixed, and that the burden of costs falls primarily on homeowners, insurers and taxpayers, rather than on the sources of the underlying climate risk.
10 Jun, 2026