Minister looks to Australia for advice on how to get more women on boards

  • Hekia Parata
Women's Affairs

The Minister of Women’s Affairs, Hekia Parata, will meet some of Australia’s top business leaders in Sydney this week to find out how Australia has managed to significantly boost the number of women on private sector boards.

“In 2009 only five per cent of new appointments to ASX 200 boards were women, but that jumped to 25 per cent last year, and so far this year 31 per cent of appointments are women,’’ Ms Parata says.

“This turnaround has come from the business community itself, with new ASX reporting guidelines and a campaign supported by some of Australia’s most senior business leaders.

“Those leaders understand the business case for more diversity on boards, including the fact that companies with a mix of men and women on their boards tend to be more profitable than those with all male boards – and that modern, successful companies reflect the diversity of their shareholders and customers.’’

Ms Parata says business arguments are just as strong this side of the Tasman, but businesses here have been slower to take the lead. Currently in the top 100 New Zealand companies only 9.3 per cent of directors are women.

''I want to understand what has motivated Australian business leaders to get so actively behind the changes,’’ Ms Parata says.

“I am positive that the Australian experience will provide New Zealand corporate governance with insights that can boost our productivity and help bring about the step change in the New Zealand economy that we all want.’’

The Minister has an intensive two days of meetings with Australian business leaders in Sydney on Thursday and Friday including:

  • David Gonski, Chair of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
  • Sir Ralph Norris, CEO and Managing Director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
  • Stephen Fitzgerald, Co-CEO and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs
  • Tim Toohey, Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs
  • John Colvin, CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD
  • Judith Fox, Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA) representative on ASX Corporate Governance Council
  • Ruth Medd, Chair and founder of Women on Boards (Australia)

The Minister will also meet Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, and will attend a plenary session of the Gender Matters: the third Women on Boards Conference.