New Zealand looks set to follow Australia's lead in promoting more women to leadership roles.
NZX chief Mark Weldon, photo/Getty Images
Publicly listed companies will come under new pressure to promote women to boards and management under proposed new stock exchange rules. NZX chief executive Mark Weldon told the Listener that the stock exchange will be proposing new rules that will require all publicly listed companies to declare how many women and minorities they have in senior roles and as directors.
“What we would intend to consult on and would seek feedback on is a proposal that would see companies required to report on or disclose on the gender and other diversity makeup of board and management.” The change is to be part of NZX’s biannual rules review process, and could take force from June 2012.
The moves are expected to be spelled out at a breakfast meeting today in Auckland on “Enhancing New Zealand’s Leadership – women, productivity and our economy” hosted by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Trans-Tasman Business Circle. The speakers are NZX Chairman Andrew Harmos, Prime Minister John Key, Women’s Affairs Minister Hekia Parata, and Goldman Sachs chairman Stephen Fitzgerald.
NZX’s moves follow a rule change by the Australian Stock Exchange has led to a 50% jump in representation of women on boards in the space of just 18 months. By the beginning of August, 12.7% of Australia’s top 200 listed companies had women directors, compared to 9.3% for the top 100 listed companies here. The Australian policy recommends publicly listed companies have a gender diversity policy, and that they report progress on meeting its goals on it regularly.
The wording Weldon is proposing goes further in several ways: it is mandatory rather than voluntary; it demands direct reporting of diversity numbers; and it goes beyond gender to include diversity generally, which includes ethnic diversity.
“We’re a very skinny economy, four and a half million people. If we systematically exclude, or don’t create good pathways or accessible opportunities for large parts of the population, whether women or immigrants, then we are both unduly limiting the size of the talent pool and we are unduly putting a handbrake on growth in a globalised economy, where diversity of views, and experience is really valuable,” said Weldon.
Ruth Laugesen’s story about moves to improve the numbers of women in management and on boards, and her guide to negotiating a better deal at work, is in the August 27 issue of the Listener.