The United Nations marked International Women's Day with the theme 'Balance the Scales' - an urgent need to ensure fair, inclusive and accessible justice for every woman and girl.
About 50 officers and sailors on board HMAS Toowoomba are female - well above the ADF average.
In addition, it is Toowoomba's leadership team where gender diversity is at parity, with a 50-50 split.
The ratio is something the ship's Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Naomi Gammon said has been a surprise to some of the nations visited, but to the rest of the crew it is simply "unremarkable".
"We have an outstanding team of hard-working and dedicated people, working in an environment where we're proud to say gender is becoming increasingly irrelevant," Lieutenant Commander Gammon said.
"The fact that none of us on board find it remarkable, I take as a positive sign that the Royal Australian Navy has made great strides already towards balancing the scales."
During its regional presence deployment, Toowoomba's crew hosted an open forum on International Women's Day.
Members of every rank and rate were welcomed to have their say on how to better support men and women in Defence.
'We have an outstanding team of hard-working and dedicated people, working in an environment where we're proud to say gender is becoming increasingly irrelevant.'
Lieutenant Commander Gammon reflected on just how much traditional gender roles were evaporating among the junior ranks.
"We received a lot of great questions and feedback. But what was really telling was the insights from young people on how they viewed things like 'parental leave', supporting their partners of every gender in advancing their careers, and how traditional stereotypes are becoming increasingly redundant," Lieutenant Commander Gammon said.
Speaking at the forum, Commanding Officer Toowoomba Commander Alicia Harrison acknowledged how far Navy had come since the first women deployed on ships in 1992, to the representation on her ship.
"What we see as situation normal in Australia has inspired many junior officers across the nations we have visited on our regional presence deployment," Commander Harrison said.
"For them to see half of our command team is female demonstrates Australia's commitment to our open, inclusive and democratic society."
Commander Harrison added far from just being tokenistic, diversity across the ranks was a tactical advantage.
"Having diversity of thought, experience and skills enhances our overall defence capability," she said.
"It breeds innovation and tactical agility. Gender representation is an important means of introducing that diversity and depth."
