Introduction to the 1st National Diversity on Boards Conference

Ruth Medd, Chair Women on Boards

Good morning. Thank you to my colleague, Claire Braund, for her welcome to our first Conference. It is indeed a long way from that first event at Westpac when, at the last minute, one of my fellow organisers ran out to buy a throw away camera to take some photos of the evening. We have not looked that good since.

As one of the founders of Women on Boards, I am proud to say that we are improving the gender balance on Australian company boards. We are doing this in a number of ways:

• Providing access to board positions through our online posting facility
• Actively promoting women onto ‘less visible’ boards through our network and contacts
• Helping women to change their pitch via strategic personal and career development opportunities
• Bringing aspirant and existing directors together at educational and high-level networking events
• Commissioning and using research that informs all our strategies and actions.

In 2005 and 2006 we conducted broad surveys that showed we were on the right track. Women in our network were applying for and achieving more board positions than previously.

Today, I am able to announce the headline results of the 2008 Women on Boards Survey, conducted once again by long-time supporter, Genroe, represented here by Adam Ramshaw and Tracey Ah Hee.

Detailed results of the survey will be provided in one of the after lunch concurrent sessions, but here are some of the highlights:

• WOBers have greater numbers of board seats in 2008 compared to 2005 and 2006
• WOBers have more paid board seats in 2008 than 2006 and 2005
• WOB continues to deliver board seats thru advertising on its website
• WOBers are making slightly more use of networks in 2008 compared to 2006 relative to advertised vacancies. This is in line with our long term objective of assisting women into networks that matter
• WOB continues to add value thru its various educational offerings, particularly those sessions that provide insights into how directors are selected

We are always looking for opportunities for directorships.  In the past year we have researched  women’s participation on a wide range of boards.  Our view of the state of play and what needs to be done on  both the demand and supply side is in the slide now on the screen.  Let’s call it the Women on Boards Score Card.  It is hardly ‘Balanced’.  (Click here to see the WOB Score Card)

I often get asked ‘what does a woman bring to a board that is different to men?’  The general answer that I give is about women have better intuition, better soft skills, better insights. 

So before I hand over to our guest speakers here is another piece of research.

A recent study into the Differences between Australian Female and Male Executives conducted by Peter Berry Consultancy  reached the conclusion that in the eight categories defined as being indicative of successful executive behavior, Females came our ahead on five and Males ahead on two.

Here is just one example from the research in relation to Strategic drive.  To quote:
"‘Females scored higher than males on Ambition, Bold, Mischievous, Colorful and Imaginative. They will be more confident, competitive, visionary and have a stronger presence. Females and Males scored the same on Power, which is a key indicator of goal orientation and career assertiveness.
The one category which the Males scored higher is Commerce, which is an interest in financial matters, revenue and profits. Males measured success in financial terms. Females are driven by motivations other than money. Overall, Females have a stronger personality type for the role of a Senior Executive."

On that positive note, I will hand back to Claire and to introduce the speakers for this session, which looks at some current issues and the barriers that are limiting women from getting to senior leadership roles and onto boards.

Thank-you for attending the 1st National Diversity on Boards Conference. Have a challenging and rewarding two days.