Women on Boards - Positive Findings, an International Perspective

Reports recently released from the Women on Boards space have a positive message...

From Australia: The Reibey Institute have delivered their second research note on Women Leaders in ASX 500 companies.  The report examines women’s representation on ASX 500 boards as of 30 June 2011, and the story is a positive one.

Key findings of the report are:

• Women hold 9.5% of board position on ASX 500 boards, up from 7.2% in 2010.
• 233 of 500 (47%) of companies have a woman on the board.
• There are 235 unique women holding 307 board positions.
• 20% of female directors serve on more than one board, as compared to 12% of male directors.
• There has been a marked increase in women on ASX 400-500 boards over the 2010/11 financial year.

The report clearly indicates the benefit of having women on company boards – companies with women on their boards deliver a significantly higher return on investment (ROE) than those without women (9.2%  vs 0.5% 5 year ROE).

To read the full report – go to The Reibey Institute: http://www.reibeyinstitute.org.au/research/australian-resources/

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From the World Bank Global Corporate Governance Forum: The GCGF have released “Women on Boards: A Conversation with Male Directors” presenting a fresh perspective to the gender diversity on boards debate.  The publication offers series of conversations with a 15 male directors from around the world on how they perceive the presence and absence of women on boards.

Some of the suggestions made by these directors on increasing the number of women on boards include:

• Increasing transparency from companies on how they appoint board members.
• Greater awareness from boards and head hunters about the available talent pool.
• Education to create a better understanding of the importance and value of diversity.
• Disclosure standards by companies regarding diversity practices and representation of women through companies.
• Incentives and recognition for companies, rather than quotas, and “naming and shaming” of companies with poor diversity performance.
• Supporting corporate women in balancing family lives while pursuing corporate careers.
• Encouraging women to apply for board positions.

The conversations are overwhelmingly positive, with strong support from the CEOs, Chairpersons and Directors interviewed for board diversity. 

For the full report - visit the Global Corporate Governance Forum