A wake-up call as gender diversity drops on ASX 200 boards

The rate at which women are being appointed to boards of Australia’s largest companies has fallen by 13 per cent in the last year.

The latest Gender Diversity Report released by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) reveals that as at the end of September 2019, the percentage of women on ASX 200 boards has fallen to 29.5 per cent, down from 29.7 per cent in July.

The rate at which women are being appointed to boards has also fallen from 45 per cent in 2018, down to 31.7 per cent in 2019.

In 2015, the AICD called for ASX 200 companies to achieve 30 per cent women on boards by the end of 2018. In that time, gender diversity has climbed more than 10 percentage points. However, the target of 30 per cent has not yet been reached.

AICD CEO and Managing Director, Angus Armour said these results should serve as a wake-up call to directors, investors and shareholders across the ASX 200.

“Australia is not lacking for talented and experienced women, and the profile of female directors being appointed to their first ASX 200 boards over the past two years is evidence of this,” he said.

“Boards struggling with gender diversity must challenge themselves and make commitments to do better. They should reflect on whether their search processes are effective and competitive enough to access the large talent pool of female directors in Australia, including whether their recruitment firms are helping them to eliminate any bias and to identify a diverse pool of candidates.”

The number of male-only boards in the ASX 200 also increased this year to seven. These companies (as at 30 September 2019) were:

• TPG Telecom Limited
• HUB24 Limited
• NRW Holdings Limited
• Pro Medicus Limited
• Polynovo Limited
• Silver Lake Resources Limited
• Speedcast International Limited