Retail funds are doing far better than industry funds when it comes to putting women on boards, according to data tabled in the Parliament.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data has revealed that the proportion of female directors on retail superannuation fund boards stood at 34 per cent at the end of August this year compared to 25 per cent for industry funds.
As well, the APRA data revealed that industry funds were lagging with respect to the appointment of independent directors to their boards with only nine per cent of board members being designated as “independent” compared to 50 per cent for retail funds and 16 per cent for public sector funds.
The APRA data was tabled in response to a question on notice from Tasmanian Liberal Senator, David Bushby, who queried both the make-up of superannuation fund board directors and the length of their tenure.
The APRA data also revealed that those people appointed to industry fund boards were likely to be there more than two years’ longer than their retail fund counterparts.
It revealed that the average tenure of an industry fund trustee board member was 7.7 years, compared to 5.1 years for a retail fund board member.
