Urgent Action to Address Woeful Lack of Board Diversity
Urgent Action to Address Woeful Lack of Board
Diversity
The
Government, fund managers and NZX Ltd need to take urgent
action to address stalled progress towards diversity on New
Zealand company boards, say Professor Judy McGregor,
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub and Barrister Catriona
MacLennan.
The trio released the New Zealand Census of Women on Boards 2018, showing that only 24.1% of board members of New Zealand’s top 100 NZX companies by market capitalisation are female.
The survey in 2017 recorded 22.1% female board members, and 20.1% in 2016.
“It is particularly shameful that NZX, which should be setting an example, has only one woman on its board of seven and that the board chair and chief executive are both male,” said Professor McGregor, Mr Eaqub and Ms MacLennan.
Professor McGregor has done the survey six times since 2008 and said she feared she would not in her lifetime see 50% women on boards.
“Progress is glacial. 20 companies in the Top 100 still have no women on their boards. That is unacceptable in terms of business reputation, market responsiveness, consumer confidence and gender equality.”
Ms MacLennan said the picture was equally woeful for ethnic diversity. She commended Champions for Change for pledging to make ethnic diversity reporting a priority in 2019.
“In 2018, we do not even have accurate statistics about the ethnic makeup of company boards because we don’t care enough to produce them. However, what is plainly apparent is that Māori, Pasifika and migrant faces are almost absent from our top company boards.”
Mr
Eaqub, who is a director of KiwiSaver manager Simplicity,
said fund managers needed to promote diversity on boards and
in management. Simplicity worked to use its voice to help
transform the business sector into a more diverse place and
other fund managers should follow
suit.
Professor
McGregor, Mr Eaqub and Ms MacLennan called for the following
action –
• NZX to set an example for other companies
by immediately moving to 50% female board members on its own
board, prioritising future appointments of female chairs and
chief executives, and acting to implement ethnic
diversity;
• The NZX Top 100 companies set targets of
50% women on boards within 12 months;
• The Prime
Minister and her Business Advisory Council place on the
agenda of their first meeting on 8 November 2018 in Auckland
immediate action to implement ethnic and gender diversity on
boards;
• New Zealand follow the Australian Stock
Exchange’s example of quotas for women on boards, with NZX
monitoring implementation;
• Fund managers act to
implement diversity on boards and in management;
• The
Ministry for Women open its Nominations Service to the
private sector. The Nominations Service has been a factor in
public sector boards reaching 45.7%
women.