To wrap up this week’s theme of Women on Boards I’m attaching the 2012 Census of Women in Leadership produced by the Gender Equality in the Workplace Agency (formerly the EOWA) and launched on 27th November – so you may have already seen the results but it’s worth revisiting just case. In a nutshell, the Census has been tracking the number of women on boards and in key executive positions in Australia’s public companies for the past decade, and for the first time ever the number of women on ASX200 boards has reached double digits – coming in at 12.3 per cent.
OK, so it’s a negligible shift since the Census reporting began, but at least it’s a shift in the right direction. And according to the Australian Institute of Company Directors, who is tracking real time stats on gender diversity on boards, as at 17th December women now hold 15.4 per cent of all ASX200 board seats.
The Census also moved beyond the ASX200 and to start tracking the ASX500 this year to bring reporting in line with international comparisons, and revealed that women comprise 9.2% of executives in the ASX500.
Here’s a snapshot of the results, and you can access the full 2012 Census of Women in Leadership here.
With all this good news… would love to hear your thoughts on QUOTAS which I’ll be covering in detail later in the month. Are we making enough progress, or is it time for quotas? Are you for, or against, quotas for women on boards and why? Would love to hear your thoughts on this…