The 2010 Australian Census of Women in Leadership by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) highlights the need for further action to lift the number of women in line management, executive management and board positions.
While substantial work is needed, up-to-date figures compiled by the Australian Institute of Company Directors show that in terms of female appointments to ASX 200 boards measurable progress has been made this year compared to previous years.
This progress has not been captured in the 2010 EOWA Census because it is based on data contained in companies’ 2009 Annual Reports which is now largely out of date.
Real-time statistics collated by the Australian Institute of Company Directors show that:
- women currently represent 10.1 per cent of directors of ASX200 boards, up from 8.3 per cent at the beginning of 2010 and higher than the 8.4 per cent figure stated in the EOWA Census;
- a total of 40 women directors have been appointed so far this year, compared to only ten for the whole of last year*;
- 27 per cent of directors appointed so far this year have been female, compared to only 5 per cent in 2009 and 8 per cent in 2007 and 2008;
- there are now six female chairs (one more than noted by EOWA) and seven female CEOs (one more than noted by EOWA);
- 37 companies have two or more women on their boards (11 more than noted by EOWA);
- the proportion of companies with no women on their boards has fallen from 54 per cent as recorded in the 2010 EOWA Census to 46.5 per cent; and
- a total of 93 boards do not have any women directors (fifteen less than noted by EOWA).
These figures, which are updated on a real-time basis, have been collated by the Australian Institute of Company Directors based on a review of all relevant announcements made through the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) by ASX200 companies.
The composition of the ASX200 which was used in compiling these figures is consistent with that used by EOWA in its 2010 Census.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, John Colvin, said that although more needs to be done, real progress has been made in 2010 in getting more women on top corporate boards.
“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.” Mr. Colvin said
“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.”
“We hope this improvement gathers pace as more and more boards recognise the value of diversityand actively seek to identify female talent.”
“However, there is also no doubt that more progress needs to be made, as there are still 93 ASX 200 boards without any women.”
“As the EOWA Census shows, there is also more to be done in addressing the low numbers of women in executive management and line management positions in our top companies, which are a main ‘pipeline’ for talented women to ultimately move onto ASX 200 boards.”
“We do not believe that time alone will fix the problem and, along with other business organisations, we have taken an active leadership role in addressing the issue of increasing the number of women on boards with effective, concrete measures.”
“The Australian Institute Company Directors has announced a range of initiatives to address the issue of board diversity, including the ASX 200 Chairmen’s Mentoring Program and a new scholarship program, funded jointly with the Federal Government, which will offer 70 scholarships for women from a variety of backgrounds to undertake one of our flagship director education courses.”
“We have also published a booklet to assist listed companies with the changes to the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Principles and Recommendations relating to diversity, and launched a number of online information directories on our website which provide details of services that are relevant to board diversity and women in particular.”
“We are also in the process of enhancing our existing Directorship Opportunities database to enable boards and recruitment firms to easily search for and identify talented directors. This database already provides organisations with a platform to promote vacant board positions (currently on a no charge basis) to a highly targeted audience of qualified directors interested in new directorships.”
*Since the Australian Institute of Company Directors last publicly released figures on 1 September 2010, the following four women have been appointed as non-executive directors to ASX 200 boards:
1 |
Australand Property Group |
Nancy Milne |
2 |
AGL Limited |
Belinda Hutchison |
3 |
Crane Group Limited |
Jocelyn Morton |
4 |
Asciano Limited |
Shirley In't Veld |
Media Contact:
Steve Burrell, General Manager Communications and Public Affairs, (02) 8248 6627 or 0407 708 485
The Australian Institute of Company Directors provides education, information and advocacy for company directors Australia wide, with offices in each state to cater for more than 27,000 members. Our members work in diverse corporations such as small-to-medium enterprises, the ASX200 corporations, public sector organisations, not-for-profit companies, large private companies and smaller private family concerns.