Women on Boards has sampled 82 companies from the ASX200 to evaluate their response to the revised Principle 3 of the ASX Corporate Governance Principles & Recommendations and more generally their progress in achieving a gender diverse workplace. Typically, this information was available in the Annual Reports (2010 and 2011) and/or on the websites of the selected organisations.
Companies listed on the ASX were required to report against the revised Principle 3 in their first annual report after 1 January 2011. This means that all companies will need to have disclosed their measurable objectives by their 2012 annual report.
Companies were selected randomly from the ASX100 and ASX200, including those who had publicly announced themselves as early adopters of Principle 3.
Women on Boards will be building on this list of 82 companies in its next edition of the Traffic Light Index and welcomes feedback and comment from those in the 2012 index and other ASX companies.
Results
| Traffic Light | ASX200 Companies |
 |
29 |
 |
43 |
 |
10 |
A detailed overview of the 82 companies and rationale for their ranking and a larger analysis (including by sector and percentage of female board members) is available to WOB subscribers by logging into the website.
How companies were rated
Ratings were based on Women on Boards’ assessment of publicly available information. Information was sourced between 20 December 2011 and 31 January 2012 from the most recent annual report, company diversity policies and the corporate governance and sustainability sections of company websites.
Red
The company has provided no or minimal details and/or has stated a commitment to provide information in the 2012 annual report.
Amber
This colour covered a large spectrum of companies, so three ratings were given, with 2.3 being the top and closest to green.
- 2.1 Basic diversity policy and some base level initiatives
- 2.2 All of 2.1 plus good policies and targets for improvement, but as yet no reported progress.
- 2.3 All of 2.1 and 2.2 plus good gendered data, targets and reporting.
Green
All of the attributes of amber plus:
- Good representation of women on their boards and / or in senior management.
- Evidence of progress with achieving stated objectives, linked to individual KPIs.
- Good data reported over a number of years.
- Usually early adopters of Principle 3.
- Typically have been seeking to improve gender diversity at all levels in their organisation for some years.
About Principle 3
Principle 3 addresses the promotion of ethical and responsible decision-making. Its key recommendations on diversity are:
Recommendation 3.2
Companies should establish a policy concerning diversity and disclose the policy or a summary of that policy. The policy should include requirements for the board to establish measurable objectives for achieving gender diversity and for the board to assess annually both the objectives and progress in achieving them.
Recommendation 3.3
Companies should disclose in each annual report the measurable objectives for achieving gender diversity set by the board in accordance with the diversity policy and progress towards achieving them.
Recommendation 3.4
Companies should disclose in each annual report the proportion of women employees in the whole organisation, women in senior executive positions and women on the board.
Disclaimer
Information for the Traffic Light Index was sourced from the most recent Annual Reports and websites of the 82 selected ASX companies between 20 December 2011 and 31 January 2012. The information in this report is copyright to WOB Pty Ltd and may be copied and redistributed for the purposes of research or information, provided that the original attributions and source details are retained. Under no circumstances should any of this material be sold. The views and interpretations expressed are those of Women on Boards.
