Men continue to hold vast majority of chair roles at ASX 200 companies
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The news: The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) has found more women taking top director positions on boards at top companies. However, its latest analysis shows gender balance lags far behind in the top chair roles.
The numbers: The proportion of women on ASX 200 boards reached 37.7% by the end of September. However, women made up 12.9% of chairs.
The AICD found that in the past 12 months there were 49 chair appointments in the top 200 listed companies, of which 15 were women.
The top 20 and 50 listed companies were much more balanced across board roles but still had very few women in chair positions.
What they said: "It’s clear from the statistics that the positive momentum continues," AICD managing director and CEO Mark Rigotti said.
"However, despite some progress in the percentage of women being appointed as chairs of ASX 200 companies, they are still far less likely to chair a company than me.
"We need to understand the reasons for this and look to address them just as we have addressed the diversity of the director pool in general.”
Chair of 30% Club Australia Nicola Wakefield Evans said a contributing factor is that former CEOs are in the hot seat for board positions and chair roles.
“Until we address the significant under representation of women CEOs at our top companies, I am concerned that the chair statistics will continue to significantly lag overall director appointments," she said.
The source: Australian Institute of Company Directors analysis
