Gender diversity on ASX200 boards hits all time high

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) today released the latest gender diversity statistics of Australia’s ASX 200 companies.


Women accounted for 29.7% of all ASX200 board positions as at 31 December 2018. This is an increase of over 10 percentage points since the AICD in 2015 called for ASX200 companies to achieve 30% women on boards by the end of 2018.

By May 2018 the ASX20, 50 and 100 had reached the 30 per cent target.

AICD Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Angus Armour said that Australia is the first country in the world to achieve 30% gender diversity in top 100 boardrooms without regulatory intervention or quotas.

“There is no doubt that corporate Australia has heard the message about the value of gender diversity in boardrooms,” he said.

“Diverse boards help prevent group-think, leading to better outcomes for shareholders, consumers, employees and the community. They promote greater innovation and improved bottom lines.

“In 2018, 45% of all appointments to ASX200 boards were women, which demonstrates that voluntary targets can be effective. Even more satisfying is that for almost half of these women it was their first ASX200 appointment, which is proof that boards are looking beyond the existing talent pool.

“Of course 30% remains the floor and not the ceiling for gender diversity. We intend to continue advocating for gender parity on Australian boards.”

At the start of the target period, the number of ASX200 boards with 30% female representation was 40. This figure has more than doubled to 96, and those with no women has decreased from 26 to only four.

There were four companies on ASX200 board with no women on their boards*

  • AMP Limited
  • ARB Corporation Limited
  • Emeco Holdings Limited
  • TPG Telecom Limited

* As at 31 December 2018

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