Women's Affairs stocktake data goes online

"The Ministry of Women's Affairs will now publish its annual state sector stocktake results on its website", says Women's Affairs Minister Pansy Wong.

Since 2004, the Ministry of Women's Affairs has been conducting annual stocktakes of the number of women on state sector boards and committees.  The results show the percentage of women appointed on a permanent basis remains consistently above 40 per cent.

Mrs Wong says the results of the stocktakes show the state sector's achievements have remained stable over the past six years.

"In addition, an increasing number of women are showing an interest in being appointed to state sector boards. This has boosted the number of candidates on the Ministry of Women's Affairs' database to close to 3000. I am confident increasing numbers of women will be appointed to state sector board positions in the future.

"New Zealand's women on state boards figures are better than most countries, including Australia. Australia has recently set its target to increase the participation of women on boards to 40 per cent, a move praised by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). 

The Ministry will also focus on increasing the participation of women on New Zealand's listed company boards. These are the boards with the fewest women directors, and are where the appointment of more women will have the biggest benefits.

"We have been working closely with Business New Zealand and the Institute of Directors in New Zealand to increase the number of women on the boards of our top listed companies. On the latest available figures as at 2007, only 8.7 per cent of directors in our top 100 listed companies were women," says Mrs Wong.

"It is certainly an area where improvements can be made."

"The Australians are doing better than us when it comes to private sector listed company boards, and given recent initiative by the Australian Stock Exchange to require gender diversity statements from 1 January 2011, there is a chance that they will get even further ahead.

"That is another reason why we now have a greater focus on the private sector," says Mrs Wong.

For more information, please visit: http://www.mwa.govt.nz/women-on-boards/stocktake2009

Women on State Sector Boards and Committees