The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has launched a national initiative to support women in the industry.

Inspire – Connecting Women in Advice will create a network and a “professional community” to aid career advancement.

The program is for all women in the financial services industry, including para-planners and support staff, according to AFA CEO Brad Fox.

“The AFA is listening to the market and we have decided to create Inspire to shape financial advice for the better,” he said.

“We want to encourage all women in our industry to progress and achieve personal fulfilment throughout their financial services careers.”

The program will offer networking, coaching, mentoring and leadership, plus female-focused events.

It will operate in a similar way to the GenXt program, Mr Fox says. The initiative will launch in May with a series of events across the country.

Meanwhile, Westpac and St George Financial Planning aim to double their number of female advisers to more than 700 by 2015, rising from a 26% representation to 45%.

Current female representation in the two financial planning businesses will increase from 26% to 45% during the next three years.