New cultural diversity scholarships

The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and the Minister assisting the Prime Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, will launch a new Cultural Diversity Scholarship Program on Friday 26 June for talented women who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or who come from a culturally and linguistically diverse background. 

The 55 scholarships, which are jointly funded by the Federal Government and the AICD, are available to senior executives and existing female directors who wish to improve their credentials. Recipients will be eligible to complete either the Foundations of Directorship program or the Company Directors Course.  Scholarship applications close at 5pm AEST  Monday 20 July  

These latest scholarships are part of the AICD and Federal Government’s joint Board Diversity Scholarship Program. A total of 195 women will have been granted a scholarship since September last year, which is more than double the number awarded in each of the two previous rounds of the program.

Since the launch of the Board Diversity Scholarship Program in 2010, there has been an encouraging increase in women on the boards of Australia’s largest companies. Monthly statistics compiled by the AICD show that women comprised 20 per cent of the directors on S&P/ASX 200 boards at 31 May 2015, versus 8.3 per cent in 2009.