How to break the cycle of women's invisibility in the boardroom?

Mon 8 Nov 2010

A circuit breaker is needed to improve female representation as directors in the top 100 companies listed on the New Zealand Stock Market (NZSX). The latest figures published today (Monday, November 8) in the New Zealand Census of Women’s Participation 2010 show women hold 9.32% of board directorships, less than a 1% gain in over two and a half years.

A total of 57 of the top 100 companies by market capitalisation have no women in their boardrooms, including five of the top 10 companies. Only 45 women in 43 companies hold a total of 58 directorships out of a total of 622 directorships. The snail-like progress for women in boardrooms is apparent when only three more top 100 companies than in 2008 added women, which was an increase of three from 2006. The number of women holding directorships has not increased since 2008, when the previous Census report was published by the Human Rights Commission. Eight women hold multiple directorships.

The figures revealed that women’s low representation continues to be systemic, dismal and embarrassing and remarkably resistant to economic cycles. While the continuing slow economic recovery challenges everyone to rethink the way business is managed and governed, women continue to be shut out at governance level. Australia is leaping ahead of New Zealand. So far in 2010, 36 women have been appointed to ASX 200 boards, compared to only ten in the whole of 2009. New Zealand is now at the bottom of an international comparison of 14 countries in terms of women’s representation as corporate directors.

Thirteen companies in the top 100 have two or more board members who are women, and only four have achieved gender parity on their boards. Several major companies have lost a female director during the time period that data was collected for the Census report and have not replaced them with other women.

The proportion of female directors on companies listed on the two other major markets, the New Zealand Debt Market (NZDX) and the New Zealand Alternative Market (NZAX), show variable results. Women hold 9.57% of directorships in the 61 companies of the NZDX with less than half (25) having female directors. This was, however, almost double the percentage of women directors since 2008. A more modest 1.75% increase in female directorships to 6.82% of women directorships is reported for the NZAX.

So what would break the cycle of women’s boardroom invisibility? A flurry of programmes and activities have sprung up to address the problem including cross-company mentoring schemes, coaching programmes, accelerator activities and women in leadership courses. Some of these are sector specific and aimed at younger women. They are generated by a legitimate degree of frustration at women’s progress in governance and from a sense of purpose in promoting the half of the talent pool that is female. Pipeline development is vital for New Zealand’s economic and social progress. However, the process of capacity building should not be a proxy for getting on with merit appointments of women who are qualified and with skills and experience.

The Human Rights Commission publishes an Agenda for Change in each Census report as a catalyst for action for the corporate sector, the New Zealand Exchange, and others with a power to make a difference. In the 2010 report there are two recommendations to improve women’s representation at the top. They are:
• The New Zealand Exchange monitors the Australian Stock Exchange’s new gender diversity reporting regime with the aim of following suit by 2012.
• The 57 top 100 companies, the 34 NZDX companies and the 20 NZAX companies without a single woman on their boards, prioritise female appointments when vacancies arise.
Given both the business case arguments and the social justice rationale, it is perplexing that boardroom doors are shut to women at a time when global business requires transformation. It doesn’t match the increasing power of women as consumers, customers, clients, employers, employees and investors.

 

Download the New Zealand Census of Women's Participation 2010 (pdf - 88 pages)