The number of women on public boards in Aotearoa New Zealand has officially been the highest it’s ever been: with wāhine now making up 52.5% of all public board and committee members.
This trend comes after a year of gender-equitable board appointments, where 54.6% of all new appointments were women.
“The facts prove that diverse boards bring a wider range of knowledge, expertise and skill. Which of course can only be of benefit to the organisation the board is governing,” Minister for Women Jan Tinetti, says upon the release of this information. “Ensuring women’s voices are around the board tables of our public organisations is a crucial component. It also paves the way for more women to follow,” she continues.
“Ensuring women’s voices are around the board tables of our public organisations is a crucial component. It also paves the way for more women to follow” — Minister for Women Jan Tinetti
Not only is this diversity pulse-check giving a glimpse into the gender balance of public boards, it leans into a new era for ethnicity reporting. As of now, 98.9% of board members have had their ethnicity data collected — the highest number of ethnicity data that the public sector has ever been able to collect.
While the’re been a gradual improvement in the ethnic diversity of the public sector’s board members, there’s hopes and commitment that it’ll continue to be grown.
“We must ensure that our public sector boards are able to better serve the needs and aspirations of our ethnic communities that make up close to 20 percent of our total population” — Minister for Women Jan Tinetti
“Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio and Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Priyanca Radhakrishnan and I are committed to increasing ethnic diversity across all public sector boards and committees,” shares Minister Jan Tinetti.
“We are one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world and that diversity is a strength. We must ensure that our public sector boards are able to better serve the needs and aspirations of our ethnic communities that make up close to 20 percent of our total population.”
Explore more of the The Stocktake of Gender, Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Diversity on public sector boards and committees via the Ministry of Women at www.women.govt.nz.