diff --git a/src/rez/rezconfig.py b/src/rez/rezconfig.py
index 0594111fc..eda9ae2a1 100644
--- a/src/rez/rezconfig.py
+++ b/src/rez/rezconfig.py
@@ -546,6 +546,9 @@
 # The default shell type to use when creating resolved environments (eg when using
 # :ref:`rez-env`, or calling :meth:`.ResolvedContext.execute_shell`). If empty or None, the
 # current shell is used (for eg, "bash").
+#
+# .. versionchanged:: 3.0.0
+#    The default value on Windows was changed to "powershell".
 default_shell = ""
 
 # The command to use to launch a new Rez environment in a separate terminal (this
diff --git a/src/rez/system.py b/src/rez/system.py
index 4a9fed1e3..abdc6981e 100644
--- a/src/rez/system.py
+++ b/src/rez/system.py
@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ def shell(self):
         """Get the current shell.
 
         Returns:
-            The current shell this process is running in (bash, tcsh, pwsh, etc).
+            The current shell this process is running in (bash, tcsh, pwsh, etc). On Windows,
+            the return value is always "powershell".
         """
         from rez.shells import get_shell_types
         shells = set(get_shell_types())
@@ -73,7 +74,7 @@ def shell(self):
             raise RezSystemError("no shells available")
 
         if self.platform == "windows":
-            return "cmd"
+            return "powershell"
         else:
             import subprocess as sp
             shell = None