Diversity will make for a stronger New Zealand

The recent news regarding the under-representation of women on company boards should be of concern not only for women in the workforce but for all New Zealanders.

Not only does this underrepresentation raise concerns about equal rights and opportunities for women, but it’s also undermines business success.

Put simply, New Zealand cannot afford to ignore the leadership talents and potential of half our population. Talent is not determined by gender, so why do so many of our businesses hobble their own futures by acting as though it is?

I’m sure most New Zealanders would agree with these points in principle. The real question, though, is why this is occurring and what we can do about it.

According to Professor Ursula Cheer, Dean of Canterbury University’s law school, the under-representation is partly due to bias – whether acknowledged or not – against appointing women, and partly due to women not putting themselves forward for appointment in the first place.

I agree with both these suggestions. But if we are to ‘‘normalise’’ the idea of women on boards we need to do more than simply institute quotas, which is frequently put forward as a solution.

Much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the contribution women already make to the success of New Zealand businesses. If we focus too heavily on the bad news, we run the risk of overlooking the good work that can be built upon.

There are various ways of doing this. The Westpac Women of Influence Awards, for example, celebrate the success of individuals while also offering other women an example of what can be achieved if they are willing to put themselves forward.

I’m also interested in what might be done for young women establishing themselves in their careers – women who might not yet have the experience to take up governance positions but have aspirations to do so in future. Rather than dwelling on statistics pointing out the current misrepresentation of boards, perhaps we would do well to show them pathways to follow.

This is what we’re trying to do at Victoria University. We are very proud to have equal representation of men and women on our governing body – the University Council – and to have a range of cultural perspectives and ages around the council table.

Diversity too is a hallmark of Victoria’s senior leadership team, which is made up of seven men and five women. We are a member of the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust and, alongside other New Zealand universities, Victoria supports the New Zealand Women in Leadership programme.

But if we are serious about increasing the diversity of our boards, we also need to think about cultural diversity – an issue that is often overshadowed by concerns about gender imbalance.

At Victoria, we have senior leaders focused on representing the interests of our Maori and Pasifika students – Professor Rawinia Higgins as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Maori), and the Hon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban in the role of Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika).

As well as advocating for the interests of these student communities, these leaders provide a powerful example to Maori and Pasifika students – women students, in particular – that they can be leaders in the field of higher education.

Producing and sharing knowledge is the core job of a university but these institutions also play a role in holding a mirror up to society – commenting on important issues and helping to improve the world we inhabit. One of the most valuable contributions universities can make is to highlight that there are many ways to view issues and in this respect, they are powerful advocates for diversity.

My hope is that diversity and a commitment towards women’s equal participation in university governance and leadership becomes the norm, not the exception, and influences the attitudes of future generations of New Zealand’s leaders.

Ensuring women can reach their potential – that they are enabled and supported by the organisations they work within – benefits not only women but New Zealand as a whole. E kore e taea e te whenu kotahi te whariki te raranga. (The tapestry of understanding cannot be woven by one strand alone.)

Sir Neville Jordan KNZM CNZM is Chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington.

Talent is not determined by gender, so why do so many of our businesses hobble their own futures by acting as though it is?

Rather than dwelling on statistics pointing out the current misrepresentation of boards, says Sir Neville Jordan, perhaps we would do well to show young women aspiring to such roles the pathways to follow.