More women company directors needed, says minister

Pansy Wong. Photo / Supplied

More women need to be appointed to boards and the Government would work with Business New Zealand and the Institute of Directors to achieve that, Women's Affairs Minister Pansy Wong said today.

New Zealand had a "dismal record" of only 8.6 per cent women directors on boards of the top 100 listed companies, she said in a statement after a speech to the Institute of Directors' annual meeting in Wellington today.

International research showed women directors added competitive advantage to companies and boosted performance, she said.

A Leeds University study of 17,000 companies found that those with at least one woman director were 20 per cent less likely to go bankrupt and another study said there had been no negative outcomes from a Norwegian law imposing a 40 per cent quota of women directors.

France also recently introduced a quota system while Australia's listed companies are required to disclose the number of women they have on their boards.

"New Zealand is in a unique position where the Government has joined forces with Business New Zealand and the Institute of Directors to tackle our dismally low levels of women directors," Mrs Wong said.

"The business case has been proven, the candidates are out there and business communities around the world are starting to realise the competitive edge that gender diversity brings to the boardroom.

"All we need for companies to reap the benefits is for them to give women directors a fair go. I am determined to be the catalyst of change by working with Business New Zealand and the Institute of Directors."

- NZPA