30% women on boards target on track this International Women's Day

According to the AICD report, women now account for 25% of ASX 200 board positions, up from 8.3% in 2009 when the Institute began reporting on gender diversity.

The ASX 20 is leading the way, with 31.1% women, and the ASX 50 is close to reaching the target at 29.2% women.

AICD Managing Director & CEO John Brogden, said that while the increase in companies with at least 30% women was great news, the ASX 50-200 companies needed to significantly improve the appointment rate of women to their boards.

“While it’s great to see that there are more companies than ever with at least one women on their board, and that far more ASX 200 companies have reached the 30% target, we clearly need to maintain our focus on improving gender diversity on Australian boards,” Mr Brogden said.

“According to research by Mercer, commissioned by the AICD, female appointment rates need to stay at 40% or above to meet the 30% target by the end of 2018.

“Australia’s top 50 companies are leading the way. The focus now moves to the next 150 companies, many of which need to move quickly to reach the 2018 target.”

To coincide with International Women’s Day, the AICD has also released a video quoting some of the outrageous objections given by men to appointing female directors in 2016. To watch the video, which features leading Australian female directors, click here.

“The World Economic Forum has predicted the gender gap won’t close entirely until 2186. I think we can all agree 169 years is too long to wait. That’s why the voices of women need to be heard in all leadership positions,” said Mr Brogden.

Key Statistics from the AICD IWD Gender Diversity Report*:

• There are 14 companies on the ASX 200 with no female directors. This is down from 21 this time last year.
• There are 66 companies on the ASX 200 with at least 30% female directors. This is up from 45 this time last year.

*Data as at February 28, 2017.