The Minister for Women, Kelly O’Dwyer has revealed that the target of appointing women to 50 per cent of the positions on Australian Government boards and committees continues to be on track with the latest figures revealing the highest number of female appointees ever.
Ms O’Dwyer said that as at 30 June, women held 45.8 per cent of positions, an increase of 3.1 percentage points over the 30 June 2017 figure, with 53.1 per cent of new appointments in the 2017-18 financial year being women.
“It is fantastic to see six Commonwealth portfolios have reached or exceeded the 50 per cent target, up from two portfolios in 30 June 2017, and a further four portfolios are within only five percentage points of meeting the target,” Ms O’Dwyer said.
“We know that the different perspectives women bring to the decision-making process can have a positive impact on the outcomes delivered.”
She said she would continue working with stakeholders and State and Territory Governments to improve the gender diversity of their nominations to Government board positions.
She said the BoardLinks program, which allowed any interested woman to register for a Government board appointment, would be expanded.
“Inclusion on the BoardLinks database has been limited to individuals personally endorsed by a BoardLinks Champion, Government Minister, or Departmental Secretary, but self-nominations will now be encouraged to expand the diversity of candidates with a range of skills and expertise,” Ms O’Dwyer said.
She said the BoardLinks program was already a highly successful tool for connecting the right women to the right opportunities and its expansion to include self-nominations would greatly increase the pool of candidates with a range of skills and expertise.
