Almost 30 per cent of Australian companies AMP Capital invests in do not have women board members, according to a report by AMP Capital.
The report found that this was a significant drop from 2010 where 60 per cent of companies had no female board representations.
“Discussions around gender diversity have evolved from being the ‘right thing’ to the ‘smart thing’ to do, with gender-diverse companies more likely to attract and retain the ideal mix of high-calibre staff,” AMP Capital corporate governance manager Karin Halliday said.
Following the UK-based 30% Club’s goal of 30 per cent of women on ASX200 boards by 2018, AMP Capital found only 10 per cent of its 252 companies met the target.
To reach the target, the report found options such as replacing 269 male directors with women, or adding 400 women directors at a total cost of about $45 million per annum.
Commenting on countries that have introduced gender quotas to boost diversity Halliday said that it could raise criticism of appointments based on gender rather than talent, or merit.
Quoting a recent McKinsey report, Halliday said that “companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 per cent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.”
