New Zealand's 'inconvenient truth': too few women on boards

A professional director says it is "an inconvenient truth in New Zealand" that there are far too few women on corporate boards. "If the representation of women on boards were a report card, it would say 'could do better'. We need to do something about it," says Susan Macken, who is on the Bank of New Zealand board and chairs Environmental Science and Research.

Dr Macken was speaking at A Place at the Table, a new initiative launched on October 6 by the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust and the Human Rights Commission.

Fifty private and public-sector directors and leaders, including Genesis director Brian Corban, KiwiRail deputy chair Paula Rebstock and TelstraClear head Allan Freeth, gathered at the University of Auckland Business School to work on strategies to boost diversity in New Zealand's boardrooms, in particular that of women. Of the country's top 100 New Zealand Stock Exchange companies, 60 have no women on their boards.

The ideas mooted included target-setting for board diversity and regular reporting on gender balance, men championing gender diversity, chairs using their influence to create change, and creating pathways to funnel the sizeable number of women on not-for-profit and government boards into private-sector governance.

EEO Trust Chief Executive Philippa Reed and EEO Commissioner Judy McGregor said that over the next six months, A Place at the Table would work with the group to develop the strongest ideas.

That action could involve meeting with male chairs, sending summit ideas to all boards, engaging with shareholding ministers and making approaches to the top 100 companies lacking women directors.

Dr McGregor also said that for the first time as EEO Commissioner, she would exercise her right to report to Prime Minister John Key about the "dismal percentage" of women on boards and A Place at the Table's plans to remedy that.

"New Zealand is at a crossroads in women's leadership," says Dr McGregor. "Despite the huge investment in women's education and the large number of women who are qualified and willing to assume governance positions, New Zealand is slipping backwards in terms of the number of women on corporate boards, and there's a real risk of regression in the public sector as well."

Dr Reed said that the global economic meltdown had highlighted that diversity at the top was needed. "Now, more than ever, boards need to make the most of the wide range of talent available to them."

Warehouse director Janine Smith said that diversity of thought on boards was essential to business success. "Diversity of thought adds value to boards, and women are part of that diversity of thought."

Also present at the summit was Elizabeth Broderick, Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner, who said A Place at the Table was "a vital first step to reinvigorating the discussion, forging new alliances and finding innovative solutions.

"There is no nation, industry or business that can afford to ignore the many highly-qualified women that are available and willing to take on leadership and governance positions."

A Place at the Table was launched with a presentation by British leadership expert Dr Susan Vinnicombe, who said that it was "simply not true that women are not ambitious for directorships".

Dr Vinnicombe, Director of the International Centre for Women Leaders at Cranfield University, said she was struck by the "energy and engagement of everyone in the room. There's so much we can learn from one another. In terms of the work in this area, there are more similarities than differences between New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. There's a lot of room to collaborate and work together."

For more on A Place at the Table.