How are financials performing on female board representation?

Macquarie has been recognised as the best financial firm for female board representations, according to the latest figures from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), while three laggards have made improvements.

According to the organisation’s latest Gender Diversity report, from March to May 2021, Macquarie had 50% of its board seats held by women, putting them in the top 10 of all ASX 200 companies and the best financial company.

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This was an increase from 44.4% last year thanks to the appointment of Rebecca McGrath in January 2021.

The next best performing financial was Bendigo and Adelaide Bank which had four seats held by women (44%), unchanged from 2020.

The AICD was targeting all ASX 200 companies to have at least 30% representations on their boards.

Meanwhile, three of the four largest laggards last year which had less than 30% representation had seen improvements in their board constitution. However, three still remained below the 30% target despite the improvements.

Magellan had increased from 14.3% female representation to 25% thanks to the appointment of Colette Garnsey to the board in November 2020. Janus Henderson had increased from 20% to 25% after appointing Alison Davis in February 2021 and Challenger appointed Heather Smith in January 2021 which meant its representation increased from 25% to 33.3%.

However, Perpetual remained unchanged with two directors at some 28.6%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell from 44.4% to 40%, and NAB fell from 40% to 33.3%.

HUB24 was the worst financial with only one female director at 20% while the worst overall was Silver Lake Resources which had zero female board members.

The best firm overall was Crown Resorts which had female board representation of 75% and had a female chair in Helen Coonan.

Top 10 financials with best female board representation

Source: AICD, July 2021