Women continue to be underrepresented among boards in the ASX200 and nothing significant is being done to fix the problem, the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency has said following the release of new data.
Industry representatives say recent efforts, such as the mentorship program conducted by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, are doing well, but a complete “rethink” is needed to boost the number of female board members.
The survey found that only 8.4% of board positions are filled by women, with only 8% holding key executive management positions. And there are only six female CEOs and five female chairs in the top 200 – barely any change from 2008.
The proportion of companies with no female board directors has increased from 51% in 2008 to 54% in 2010. EOWA acting director Mairi Steele says that “nothing significant” has been done in the past two years, except recent efforts by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
“I think it’s a good time for the census to come out, because we’ll be able to measure progress as some initiates introduced this year go forward,” she says.
However, she also notes the number of women taking board positions this year proves “there is no shortage of talent”.
The study has also found that 4.1% of line roles are occupied by women – roles the EOWA say are “pipeline” for executive key management and chief executive roles.
The proportion of companies with no female Executive Key Management Personnel has declined slightly to 61.9% from 65.1% in 2008.
It says Australia has the lowest percentages of women in the most senior positions, compared to New Zealand, Britain, Canada, US and South Africa.
However, some industries are doing well, with women occupying one-third of board seats in the materials, insurance, consumer services, banks, software and financial industries.
Industries with the highest amount of women in executive key management personnel positions include telcos and pharmaceuticals. The lowest ranked groups were automobiles and components and apparel.
The best companies were named as Pacific Brands – the only company to achieve near-equal numbers of men and women in senior ranks – along with Spotless Group and Tabcorp. The latter pair have been able to achieve more than 25% or more of female board positions.
“But there is still a long way to go before there is anything resembling equality,” Steele said. “The EOWA 2010 Census draws a line in the sand and we will be measuring the continuing success of recent initiatives against it.”
Nareen Young, chief executive of Diversity Council Australia, says the results “clearly” indicate that not enough is being done to promote women being appointed to company boards.
“More needs to be done. There are some good results from the last few months, but there needs to be a lot more done before we get enough women in boards.”
“It’s all about definitions of merit. It’s about rethinking what our ideal candidates are, and what ideal workers are, because whatever we’ve been doing up until now hasn’t worked.”
However, she says the work being done by the Australian Institute of Company Directors around mentorship is achieving results. Currently the AICD has more senior executives “mentor” younger women who they believe are suited to achieving executive or other board positions.
“Certainly the work that AICD is doing is showing that something is working. I know of workshops that are being held, and these are a great way of getting more women on boards.”
“I think what we need is more of that kind of sponsorship. Women need to be sponsored if we’re going to see any improvement.”
Steele points to a McKinsey report which states that companies with three or more women in top management have out-performed those companies with no women executives.
“The lack of women in leadership should be concerning for parents, educators, politicians and business leaders. Parents should ask themselves, whether they are content for their daughters to enter a workforce in which they have less chance to rise to the top and in which they have to work more hours to earn as much as men.”
“Educators should be questioning the waste of talent and business leaders should examine the economic cost of ignoring high potential women in the labour market.”
AICD chief executive John Colvin also said the mentorship program is achieving good results, with members including Don Argus, Kevin McCann, Graham Bradley and David Gonski.
The organisation’s own figures differ from the EOWA’s, as it stated last month that women make up nearly 10% of all board places in the ASX. However, Colvin agrees that more needs to be done and other programs like the AICD mentorship scheme should be adopted.
“While we still have a long way to go, the initiatives in this area taken by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the ASX Corporate Governance Council – which has issued new recommendations relating to diversity – the Business Council of Australia and other organisations are starting to have an effect.” Colvin said in a statement.
“Four times the number of women have been appointed in the first nine months of 2010 than in the whole of 2009, and women have comprised more than five times the number of ASX 200 board appointments compared to last year, so there is no doubt that real change is occurring.”
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Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
