All-male boards called out
The number of New Zealand company boards lacking any female directors is embarrassing for a country which prides itself on equality, says Global Women.
The NZX is poised to update its latest board gender diversity figures, and Miranda Burdon, chief executive of Global Women, expected a modest increase in the proportion of directors who were women.
But Global Women, a New Zealand organisation championing diversity, counts 27 boards with no female directors.
‘‘It’s particularly shocking in this day and age,’’ Burdon said.
In the US, fewer than 3 per cent of listed companies have no female directors, she said. In Australia, it was less than 5 per cent.
The proportion of NZX listed company boards with no women was around 18 per cent.
These businesses are clustered at the smaller end of the market, but some are on companies where a large proportion of their customers are women. These include Orion Health, Millennium & Copthorne, Turners Automotive, Orion Health, and retailer Smiths City.
‘‘From a purchasing perspective, on most consumer goods, 85 per cent of the decisions are made by women. The market is 51 per cent female,’’ Burdon said.
❚ Global Women’s list of NZX companies without female directors: Argosy Property, Augusta Capital, Blackwell Global Holdings, CBL Corporation, CDL Investments New Zealand, The Colonial Motor Company, Future Mobility Solutions, Geo, Gentrack Group, ikeGPS Group, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand, Mercer Group, New Talisman Gold Mines, NZ Windfarms, Orion Health Group, PGG Wrightson, Pushpay Holdings, QEX Logistics, Rubicon, Scales Corporation, Smiths City Group, SeaDragon, Smartpay Holdings, Senior Trust Retirement Village Listed Fund, Turners Automotive, TRS Investments, Veritas Investments.