Finance Minister Penny Wong said the network would be established by the end of the year.
It will identify potential candidates for government board positions, with a key focus on appointing women to their first board.
Senator Wong said the requirement for previous experience as a board member was often an obstacle to women being offered the high-powered positions.
"With women holding so few board positions across the country, this practice amounts to a structural impediment," she told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) Women in Leadership event in Adelaide.
"I recall being presented with an all-male short list for a board appointment, to which I responded that if we couldn't even find a suitably qualified woman to short-list, let alone appoint, then we probably had some work to do."
The Gillard government has a target of 40 per cent of government board positions being held by women by 2015.
It wants to set an example of gender equality for corporate Australia.
Senator Wong said the new network would be a springboard for women into board positions in the wider business community.
"We will see an increased number of women with board experience, and so expand the pool of candidates for corporate Australia to draw from in their own appointment processes," she said.
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