A Place At The Table
A Place At The Table aims to improve the diversity of boards of directors in New Zealand. A partnership between the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and the EEO Trust, this long-term project aims to boost the numbers of women and others in governance positions.
Recent News and Resources
The fatherhood bonus: Have a child and advance your career. This article cites various studies which show that while there's a motherhood penalty, fathers tend to do better in their careers than men who don't have children. 14 December 2011.
Launch of mentoring programme aims at changing dynamic in the boardroom. The Institute of Directors launched its Mentoring for Diversity programme with 30 senior leaders mentoring 30 well-qualified women. See a Daily Post article for broader coverage. 9 December 2011
Good intentions alone won't help women rise to the top. This report from Canada explores how to change the gender imabalance in senior roles. One interviewee says that programmes supporting women are most successful when they have a strong business case behind them, when they have a high-profile sponsor - ideally male - and when there are metrics to back them up. 3 October, 2011
Diversity builds better business. An opinion piece by Philippa Reed on recent moves in New Zealand and Australia to improve gender diversity amongst our business leaders. Published in the National Business Review, 30 September 2011.
Unprecedented number of women joining Australian Boards. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that women are being appointed to boards at unprecedented levels as the Australian Securities and Stock Exchange's corporate governance recommendations on gender diversity kick in. 9 August, 2011.
All systems are go for high-tech exec. Interview with past EEO Trust Chair Barbara Chapman, now ASB Bank CE, where, amongst other things, she talks about women in leadership.
Change gender mix or face quota. An article in The Australian about moves to increase diversity on boards. 23 April 2011.
Improving equity in Australia. Businesses that fail to improve gender equality in their workplaces could miss out on billions of dollars in government contracts under a plan put forward by Australian Women's Minister Kate Ellis. 10 March 2011.
Gender Matters. This 3rd Women on Boards conference being held on 27-29 April in Sydney will include presentations from Theresa Gattung of Wool Partners International; Elizabeth Bryan, Chair Caltex & UniSuper, director Westpac and AICD and Ralph Norris, CEO Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Women on boards. New from the Ministry of Women's Affairs is this website with a host of information and inspiration on women and governance. It includes very readable case studies of a range of women sitting on private and not-for-profit boards, as well as tools, tips and detailed guidance on gaining and excelling in a governance role.
Quotas back in favour. Blog from Australia on revived interest in gender quotas. 7 December 2010.
Women directors deliver. Research by the Australian Reiby Institute shows a correlation between numbers of women on boards and higher returns. Over three and five year periods, ASX500 companies with women directors delivered significantly higher return on equity than companies without any women directors. October 2011.
NZX considers mandatory gender diversity reporting. This Business Day article reports that the NZX is considering requiring listed New Zealand companies to disclose their diversity policies as a way of boosting the poor showing of women in management and governance. 11 August, 2011.
Closing the gender gap: Plenty of potential economic upside. This Goldman Sachs report suggests that closing the gender pay gap would boost New Zealand's GDP by 10%. August, 2011.
Morrissey topples old boys. A Bloomberg article about a mother of nine who heads Newton Investment Management, overseeing 47.2 billion pounds, and is lobbying for more women directors. 24 May 2011.
Mind the gap: Gender pay equity online course. An interactive, freely available course from Australia's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, designed for anyone who wants to know more about pay equity and how to achieve it.
Women on Boards. This UK report recommends that UK companies listed on the FTSE 100 should be aiming for a minimum of 25% female board members by 2015. The report also recommends companies should disclose the number of women sitting on their boards and working in their organisations. 8 March 2011.
EU plans 20% women quota for boardrooms. The EU is planning to introduce quotas forcing companies to fill at least a fifth of their top jobs with women if the private sector does not increase female representation in the boardroom over the next year. 8 February 2011.
Time for young to take lead in business. In this NZ Herald article, Brian Gaynor discusses the dearth of post-baby boomers listing companies on the NZX. 15 January 2011.
Women on Australian boards up five-fold. Article on the increasing numbers of women on Australian boards. 24 November 2010.
Radio NZ Insight feature on women on boards. What's stopping women breaking into the boardroom? Are there enough suitable candidates or are old-boys networks keeping women off the governance ladder? 14 November 2010.
Census of women's participation records backward slide. The Census of Women's Participation 2010 shows that female participation in governance, professional and public life has begun to slide, erasing hard fought gains. 7 November 2010.
Guidance on gender diversity for ASX (479k pdf) - prepared by Women on Boards and Chartered Secretaries Australia.
ASX gender reporting guidelines (109k pdf) from Sphinxx, an Australian organisation supporting women in leadership.
Women on Boards: Getting Ahead
"Women on Boards: Getting Ahead" was held in Auckland in September 2010, offering inspiration, tools and advice from women who know what it takes to be an effective board member.
Our media release.
Presentations:
Ruth Medd - Getting started (89K pdf)
Fiona Shand - Legislation overview (62K pdf)
Denise Aldous - Director's story (842K pdf)
A Place At The Table: The Way Forward
At "A Place At The Table: The Way Forward", held at the University of Auckland Business School in October 2009, prominent board chairs, senior women in governance and community representatives identified positive strategies for the future.
Visiting international governance expert, Professor Susan Vinnicombe of Cranfield University, spoke at the forum about international efforts to improve the numbers and status of women on boards.
Ideas and suggestions from forum (64k)Susan Vinnicombe's slide presentation to A Place At The Table (1.9Mb)
Video of Susan Vinnicombe's lecture Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards: Does it matter? as part of the Dean's Distinguished Speaker Series, 8 October 2009, University of Auckland. Click here for her slides (3.9MB) .
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