Credit Unions & Building Societies 2012

  • 21.2 per cent of directorship positions are held by women
  • 17 per cent (19) do not have a woman on their board
  • 39 per cent (43) have 25 percent or more of directorships held by women

The percentage of women on credit unions and building society boards has increased very slightly since 2011, up from 18.4 to 21.2 per cent (157 of 740 directors). The sector continues to undergo restructuring and amalgamation, with the numbers of credit unions and building societies falling to 109 for the 2012 BDI.

Election to credit unions is via membership vote and nominees usually need to be an account holder to nominate. It is an environment where qualified women should be able to compete on a relatively level playing field and gain useful experience to move into larger (including ASX) boards. However, vacancies on some credit unions are often not widely advertised and incumbents (or their designated replacements) are often re-elected.

The good guys

In 2012 there are 11 credit unions with a minimum of 40 percent female directors. They are listed below with the names of the chairs and percentage of female trustees.

  1. Berrima District Credit Union Ltd, Mr Allan Cupitt, 50.0%
  2. Community CPS Australia Limited, Mr Chris Doogan AM.  50.0%
  3. Credit Union SA Ltd, Ms Alexandrea Cannon, 50.0%
  4. Horizon Credit Union Ltd., Mr Leigh Wallace, 50.0%
  5. Hunter United Employees' Credit Union Limited, Ms Helen Murray, 50.0%
  6. Wyong Council Credit Union Ltd, Ms Jill Hetherington, 45.5%
  7. First Choice Credit Union Ltd, Mr Peter Carman, 44.4%
  8. Teachers Credit Union Limited    Mr John Kouimanos, 44.4%
  9. Gateway Credit Union Ltd, Ms Jennifer M Wicks, 42.9%
  10. Hume Building Society Ltd, Mr Ulf Ericson, 42.9%
  11. Service One Credit Union Limited, Mr John Clarke, 42.9%

The laggards

In 2012 there are 19 credit unions without a woman on their board, one less than in 2011. They are listed below with the names of the chairs.

  1. Alliance One Credit Union Ltd, Mr Graham Taylor
  2. Allied Members Credit Union Ltd (Comtax), Mr John Parsons
  3. AWA Credit Union Limited, Mr Brian Virtue
  4. Bananacoast Community Credit Union Ltd, Mr Gerald J Regan
  5. ECU Australia Ltd, Mr Christopher Turnbull
  6. EECU Limited, Mr Ron Reinten
  7. Encompass Credit Union Limited, Mr Rod Paul
  8. Fire Brigades Employees' Credit Union Limited, Mr Grant West
  9. Ford Co-operative Credit Society Limited, Mr David Burke
  10. Goldfields Credit Union Ltd, Mr Allan Pendal
  11. La Trobe University Credit Union, Mr Neil McDonald
  12. Macquarie Credit Union Limited, Mr Chris Shepherd
  13. Melbourne University Credit Union, Mr Neil McDonald
  14. Newcastle Permanent Building Society, Mr Michael Slater (Note: NPBS appointed a female director in mid February 2012)
  15. Northern Inland Credit Union Limited, Mr Barry Pratten
  16. Pulse Credit Union Limited, Mr Neil McDonald
  17. Sydney Credit Union Ltd, Mr Brian Nevin
  18. Tartan Credit Union Ltd, Mr Mike Tilley
  19. The Police Department Employees' Credit Union Limited, Mr K E Moroney

About the data

 Data for the 2012 Boardroom Diversity Index comprises information on Australia's 109 credit unions and building societies. The data was collected in January - March 2012 from websites and/or via direct inquiry. Data for 11 of the credit unions was not made available.

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