Women on Boards Members

[Michael R]

Hi all,

For anyone you may know who is a Member of Women on Baords (WOB), they have the opportunity to join AIM NSW & ACT with a special offer, we will waive the $99 joining fee.

To grab an application for visit http://www.womenonboards.org.au/subscribe/aim.htm

Regards
Michael R

[chris.barry]

A Management Today article in 2008 (http://www.aim.com.au/DisplayStory.asp?ID=660) discusses the fact that at each rung moving up the corporate ladder, the proportion of women diminishes.

Statistics show that Australia lags behind overseas countries when it comes to women holding senior management and board level positions.
The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) commissioned the 2006 EOWA Australian Women in Leadership Census, analysing companies on the ASX200.

The findings showed that Australia had the second-lowest score out of six comparison countries, with women holding only 8.7 per cent (129 seats out of 1487) of board directorships.

This compared to: 14.7 per cent reported in the 2005 Census of Fortune 500 companies; 12 per cent reported in the 2005 Canadian FP500; 11.5 per cent in the 2006 Census of JSE-listed companies in South Africa; 10.5 per cent in the 2005 UK FTSE 100 Census in the UK; and 7.1 per cent in the 2006 Census of the NZSX Top 100 in New Zealand.

Whereas 50 per cent of ASX200 companies have at least one woman board director, in the US it is 89.4 per cent and in the UK 78 per cent.

Clearly, Australia has a long way to go. Part of the reason for this lag is an associated statistic, showing only 3 per cent or six ASX200 companies having women CEOs and 12 per cent with women in executive management positions.

Ruth Medd is the founder of Women on Boards, an online network for women seeking directorships on Australian boards. Medd elaborates the conundrum.

"Across the top 200 companies, you have to look at the source of potential new directors," she says. "Traditionally it has been ex-CEOs or people with skills and knowledge of large public companies, such as lawyers and accountants.

"Either way, it is not a large pool of people to draw from and this reflects in the small proportion of female board directors within Australia."

The rest of the article can be found here (http://www.aim.com.au/DisplayStory.asp?ID=660).


AIM is proud to partner with Women on Boards and encourages our members to visit the website to learn more. Women on Boards improves the gender balance on Australian company boards by creating opportunities for women, mentoring women into directorships and ensuring a high level of dynamic interaction across its large and influential network.