NZ to follow Aussie way

Jenny Shipley. Photo / APN

Global Women chairwoman designate and former prime minister Jenny Shipley backs a call for publicly listed companies to declare how many women they have on boards.

Publicly listed companies will come under new pressure to promote women to boards and management under proposed new stock exchange rules.

NZX chief executive Mark Weldon told the Listener last week that the stock exchange would propose new rules that would require all publicly listed companies to declare how many women and minorities they have in senior roles and as directors.

The change is to be part of NZX's biannual rules review process, and could take force from next June.

NZX's moves follow a rule change by the Australian Stock Exchange that has led to a 50 per cent jump in representation of women on boards within 18 months.

By the beginning of this month, 12.7 per cent of Australia's top 200 listed companies had women directors, compared with 9.3 per cent for the top 100 listed companies here.

The Australian policy recommends publicly listed companies have a gender diversity policy, and that they report progress on meeting its goals on it regularly.

The wording Weldon is proposing goes further in several ways: it is mandatory rather than voluntary; it demands direct reporting of diversity numbers; and it goes beyond gender to include diversity generally, which includes ethnic diversity.

Shipley said she supported any move which brought New Zealand into line with standards in Australia - particularly when so many of New Zealand's publicly listed companies were dual listed.

- APN