Today’s appointment by Independence Group of its first female board member has taken it off the list of ASX200 companies lacking female representation on their boards, although four other Western Australian businesses remain among those still to adopt gender diversity at board level.
A report by the Australian Institute of Company Directors today found women now made up 30 per cent of ASX20 board positions and 25 per cent on the ASX200.
The results mean ASX200 companies are getting closer to AICD’s 2018 target of 30 per cent female representation.
However, the institute also found that women made up only 7 per cent of board of the 23 companies that completed initial public offerings in the first quarter of the 2017 financial year.
AICD chairman Elizabeth Proust said while significant progress had been made, there was still a fair way to go to achieve gender diversity on Australian boards.
“There is undeniable and mounting evidence that gender diversity on boards brings significant benefits,” she said.
“In total, 64 ASX200 companies have reached our 30 per cent target.
“That’s up from just 38 companies this time last year.”
Of the ASX200 companies without women on their boards, four were from Western Australia – Mineral Resources, Resolute Mining, Western Areas and Galaxy Resources.
Independence Group was also mentioned on the list (as the research was done up to November 30), however the Perth-based miner today announced the appointment of Debra Bakker as a non-executive director.
“Companies further down the ASX also need to understand the value that diversity can bring to their own boards,” Ms Proust said.
“That message is clearly not being head by companies that made IPOs in the first quarter, considering males made up an astonishing 93 per cent of those boards.”
