Getting more women on board

Australian women are not being appointed to corporate boards fast enough, so the nation should seriously consider mandatory gender quota legislation, argues Deakin law expert Professor Jean Du Plessis.

An international expert on corporate governance, Professor Du Plessis says that Australia is way behind on this issue and it is time to open the "can of worms" of gender equity in the higher echelons of corporate power.

To kick-start the discussion, the Law School, supported by the German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, has organised a national forum on the topic, "Mandatory Gender Quota Legislation: Will Australia Follow Europe?" to be held in Melbourne on October 20, 2014.

The forum will feature leading executives and academics from Australia, Germany, Norway, South Africa and The Netherlands.

"When more women were not appointed naturally to boards in the European Union (EU), quota legislation was the only alternative," said Professor Du Plessis.

He is firmly of the opinion that, because of developments in the EU, it is just a matter of time before more pressure will be put on government to take note of and consider the advantages of gender quota legislation - the ripple effect from the EU, which has affected several other topics and developments in Australia in the past.

"Australia is very much a male-dominated society, as far as business and politics are concerned. On ASX 200 boards, only 18.2 per cent of board members are women and only 3.5 per cent of CEOs are women."

"There are wonderful initiatives and well-intended programs run by several very influential organisations and institutions in Australia to get more women on boards, but so far, they have not resulted in any significant improvement in the gender balance on boards of listed companies."

Professor Du Plessis believes the Australian public would be behind him if they were consulted.

"A survey conducted in all EU countries in 2012 found that 75 per cent of Europeans were in favour of gender balance legislation related to company boards," he said.

"However, we do not know the level of public support in Australia, as the topic of gender quota legislation seems to be a 'no-no' topic kept off the list of ones to be discussed publicly.

"It is as if very influential organisations and institutions do not want the public to 'know' what people really think about the topic. These influential organisations and institutions, primarily dominated by men, keep telling us 'All is well. We are making good progress!' But this is not the case."

Professor Du Plessis explained that the GFC triggered a rethink on good governance in developed countries and it is no longer "just about chasing the dollar," but instead, is about being good corporate citizens.

"Given that the current focus and aim for companies is to be 'responsible' and strive for long-term sustainable growth, it would be an incredible insult and injustice to try to keep women off boards by saying they cannot make a significant contribution," he said.

• Learn more about the Forum "Mandatory Gender Quota Legislation: Will Australia Follow Europe?"