Boardroom Diversity Index

The WOB Boardroom Diversity Index launched on International Women's Day in March 2010 is the first comprehensive publicly available data measuring female participation on the boards of organisations in the sectors listed below. The index components were selected because of their economic and social importance. The scarcity of women directors is a key aspect of the wider economic disadvantage experienced by women in the Australian workforce. In publishing the Boardroom Diversity Index, Women on Boards is seeking to alter the perspective of 'it just takes time' and provide practical strategies and resources for willing Chairmen and their advisors to improve female participation on boards.

Summary

  • Women were the losers in the 2010 Federal Election. There are 24.7 percent women  in the House of Representatives and 39.9 percent women in the Senate.
  • ASX200 companies remained trapped in the eight per cent range for many years. In June 2010 the number crept up to 9.2 per cent with the introduciton of the new ASX Corporate Governance Guidelines requiring reporting on gender as of 1 January 2011.
  • Women comprise 21 per cent of the APRA regulated superannuation trustee boards in 2010
  • Credit unions have shown a small positive change, up from 19 per cent female directors in 2007 to 21 per cent in 2010.
  • The percentage of female directors of National Sporting Organisations's has increased from 14 per cent in 2006/07 to 26 per cent in 2010.
  • Rural reseach and development corporations have increased their number of female directors from 13 per cent in 2008 to 22 per cent in 2009.
  • Women comprise 17 per cent of the directors of Cooperative Research Centres in 2010
  • The percentage of women directors of government business boards (State and Federal) is below the Australia wide average of 38 percent for overall government boards and committees
  • Overall there are 1024 female directors listed across the index.

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