I've never heard 'mate' used for a woman, but I can imagine it's possible. I consider it totally normal to call a group of guys and girls together 'guys', as in 'what are we going to do then, guys?', but when I've used this with foreigners, the girls find it a bit strange! In Glasgow, men used to use 'doll' to address a woman in an informal way, but I know at least one woman who also uses this word to address a guy - it is slightly strange, but it just comes across as good-natured and friendly.

"Mate" is definitely used for males and females in Aust/NZ (in the past people used "luv" for females, but this can sound very condescending). Even strangers can be called "mate" sometimes: "Excuse me mate, do you know where ____ is?" "Sure mate, it's ____." "Thanks mate." Naturally, you don't call your boss or manager "mate", nor do you use it for police officers or magistrates. There is such a thing as being too "matey".

Your typical 'blokey bloke', like a tradesman, will often call women mate as well. It's basically being friendly. I personally wouldn't call woman mate as i find it to be too bogan :)

In Britain (Aus/NZ slang is largely grounded in our slang as I'm sure you've noticed), 'mate' is a very common term of address for anyone who the speaker is on good terms with. While it used to not be used to address women, it's often nowadays applied to either sex. However, I would still consider it more of a 'male' word, in Britain at least. I think its usage is looser in Aus/NZ though.

hi that's mean is partner or companion!