One of Australia's top company directors is warning that quotas might
be needed to get more women into Australian corporate boardrooms.
Elizabeth Proust, who was today appointed chairman of the Australian
Institute of Company Directors (AICD), has set 2018 as the deadline for 30
percent of board positions in the nation's top 200 companies to be filled by
women.
Ms Proust - well known in corporate Australia as chairman of Bank of
Melbourne and Nestle` Australia - says quotas could be justified to force
male-dominated boards to change with the times.
"Until recently the policy of the AICD has not been to support
quotas. But we've softened that in recent times to say if we don't meet our
target of 30 percent by 2019 that everything will be on the table, including
quotas," Ms Proust told the ABC's "AM" program.
"The message to companies is that if they don't act then it's
likely to be government legislation which will mandate it and they'll have to
do it.
"It's always better to do these things of your own volition rather
than having it forced on you by government."
Ms Proust, who in the past has opposed quotas, admits the sluggish pace
of change in corporate Australia has forced her to take a more aggressive
stance.
"When I started my career all those years ago I suspect the
thought of having this conversation would be a sad event," Ms Proust told AM.
"I thought we would have made much more progress but there are
still boards I've been on where I've been the only women and in some cases
boards with no women at all."
Ms Proust's comments add to criticisms that while most listed companies
have policies on boardroom diversity, some are yet to take them "off the
shelf" and put them into action.
Last month, the federal government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency
warned that many company bosses still fail to implement policies on pay
equality and family friendly work patterns.
The agency said that in addition to taking home a smaller pay packet,
women who break through the glass ceiling into management are not getting the
part time work opportunities they might have fought for in the past.
In addition to her chairman roles, Elizabeth Proust has held senior
corporate and government positions at ANZ Bank, BP, the City of Melbourne and
is a former secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Victoria.