As the dust settles on International Women’s Day 2017 I want to send a shout out to Andrew Robertson at ABC’s The Business.
For over a decade, Andrew has made it a point to raise the gender agenda time and again for mainstream business viewers. I’ve lost track of the number of times he has shone a spotlight on the progress of women on boards and in leadership positions. Today he drew attention to a decline in women directorships and the fact that 100% of ASX board appointments last month were men. I thank him for that.
Andrew ran an update today on this topic, for which he requested my comments – the story is the first one in this link.
My view? If we want to avoid quotas, we need to have targets with teeth. The Australian Institute of Company Directors has set a target of 30% women on boards by 2018. But ten men and no women were appointed to ASX 200 boards in February. That’s simply not going to get us to either their target, or my expected outcome of gender equality on boards.
Key takeaway from the segment? Boards need new and different skills in the digital environs of today and women are well placed to provide them.
With “Be Bold For Change” as the theme for International Women’s Day 2017, it will take some bold leadership from company chairs, advocates and aspiring women directors alike to shift the balance of power on company boards. So? Challenge accepted.
Yours, ready and willing,
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