More women to get on boards in 2024, business leaders predict

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Business leader and chair of Global Women Theresa Gattung.
Photo: www.theresagattung.com/

Should 2024 be the year more women get on boards?

Business leader and chair of Global Women Theresa Gattung thinks so.

“Every year is the year that women should be getting on a board, but I do think that 2024 is a good year because there’s a lot of momentum and support around this and it feels like there’s less resistance than there has been in times past.”

The Ministry for Women’s Gender and Ethnic Stocktake of Public Sector Boards and Committees (the Stocktake) said to 31 December 2022, women held 53.1 percent of appointed board positions – the highest figure to date.

Gattung said companies where the customer base was female usually had plenty of women on its board.

“There’s pretty good broad diversity [at] New Zealand commercial banks, for example. Many of them are chaired by women. Many of them have got female CEOs and that’s pretty obvious because we make up half the customer base.

“We’re now seeing a few combos of female chairs, female CEO. We’ve got that at ASB. We’ve got that at Westpac.

“That was pretty unheard of even a few years ago, so we’re getting more used to the fact that it’s not just about having women’s voices at the table, but actually women can be in the top position, so that’s definitely been a shift. I think the way has been paved and it’s still not as easy, but it’s easier than it used to be.”

She said there are still a few “women-sized holes” in more male-dominated sectors like oil and gas.

Women in their 20s and 30s are also not so prevalent on boards.

Neerali Parbhu is the youngest person on the board of Camp Quality – a charity that provides camps for children with cancer.

At 31, she said one of the barriers for women or young people joining is getting exposure to governance.

“I think a really good way is actually volunteering with an organisation. Otherwise there are great organisations like the Institute of Directors that offer… a lot of training programmes and opportunities to experience governance without actually taking on a governance role.

“So I would highly recommend people to actually just connect into the community of governance as well as to their passions to learn on the ground, because that experience is invaluable, by the time you do get to governance.

“What actually drove me to want to be on a board was recognising the power and influence people can have from governance and it’s actually advice one of my former mentors gave me… if you actually are passionate about change then you need to get on the board of the organisation.

“So until those boards have good diversity and reflects the communities they serve, then we aren’t going to get the most used out of our boards, they’re not going to be as powerful as they could be.”

Parbhu said she would encourage more women to join boards as they represent half the population.

“Specifically for things that really relate to women, so any health conditions or any part of society which women are greatly affected by, I would 100 percent encourage women to be a part of those conversations in governance level to be a voice of reason to represent their fellow wāhine.”

The Stocktake showed the diversity of woman sector boards and committees.

65.4 percent are NZ European or European, 26.8 percent Maori, 7.2 percent Pacific, 6.1 percent Asian and 0.8 percent Middle Eastern Latin American and African.

Parbhu said there was definitely no harm in putting yourself out there.

“The worst they can say is no. Remember your uniqueness and your strengths that you can bring to that conversation, whether you’re a woman, whether you’re a young person, whether you bring ethnic diversity or all of the above, play to your strengths.”

Gattung had some advice for those who have thought about doing just that.

“Some women do suffer from the imposter syndrome, thinking that their background, their experience and qualifications are not good enough. So in that case, it’s a matter of actually reaching out, asking for support, asking yourself the question ‘do I have what it takes?’

“Start with something you’re passionate about, build up networks and skills. Ask for help. Go on courses, read resources and don’t be afraid to put yourself forward.”

A Ministry for Women spokesperson said it was committed to increasing the representation of women in leadership and helping more women get into governance.