Achieving greater gender balance on New Zealand boards

Achieving greater gender balance on New Zealand boards
The 120^th anniversary of women’s suffrage last year reminded us that New Zealand led the world in recognising that women should have an equal rights to men.

New Zealand women have made a huge contribution to our economy, our society, and our families. I want to build on this legacy by continuing to improve women’s lives.
One of our goals is to achieve more gender balance in leaders
hip across New Zealand. This brings benefits not only to boards and their organisations, but also to the economy.
Leadership talent is always in demand, in New Zealand and globally.
Since 1994 women have been graduating with tertiary qualifications at higher rates than men. They now comprise 65 percent of university graduates. Yet at every successive management level more talented women drop out, or their career stalls, compared to men.
I want to see a greater number of women in leadership and governance roles in New Zealand. There is compelling evidence that gender balance leads to better decisions and organisational performance, providing economic and productivity gains.
Women represent increasing market power. Research evidence tells us they make most of the retail decisions, worldwide.

Gender balance in leadership can also promote increased innovation and effective problem solving, and more effective risk management.
We have made progress – a recent survey by Grant Thornton notes that, at 31 percent, we have the highest level of women in senior management roles of the world’s developed economies – but is that “equal” enough, no.

We must create more opportunities for women in governance positions, especially in the private sector. We must achieve a step change in the percentage of women that currently sit on boards, head organisations, and contribute as Members of Parliament or other democratically elected roles.  

Organisations need to look at the issues and challenges they face in attracting, developing and retaining women at all levels in the leadership pipeline. Research shows that addressing cultural and structural issues, such as unconscious bias and flexible work practices, removes barriers for women.

Senior leaders, particularly chief executives, need to set long-term goals for women in leadership in their organisations and regularly measure results towards that goal.

In the state sector, I encourage women seeking governance roles to contact the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. The Ministry manages a database with over 800 women who are actively growing their careers in governance.
In the private sector, I supported NZX in establishing its Diversity Rule last year. This Rule requires companies listed on the stock exchange to report on gender balance on their boards and in their senior management teams each year.
I also support the work of the 25 Percent Group, a group of private sector champions who are challenging their peers to achieve 25 percent of women on boards by 2015.  This is a huge challenge. The participation rate of women in the private sector is low when compared to state sector boards, which have been over 40 percent for the last decade.

In March 2014 NZX presented its first report, which showed that women comprise 12 percent of directors on the 109 New Zealand companies covered by this Rule. This is comparable with the Human Rights Commission (HRC)’s 2012 report that 14.75 percent of directors on the “top 100 companies” on the stock exchange are women. The bi-annual HRC report is a slightly different dataset to the NZX catchment as it includes companies who are also listed in Australia and does not include some of the smaller companies covered in the NZX reporting.

By increasing women’s participation and having more diversity on boards, we can further grow our productive economy. To do this and achieve the progress required, each of us must take action today. 
 
 

Rt. Hon Jo Goodhew - Minister of Women's Affairs.