Women's Representation on Commonwealth and Private Sector Boards

A Research Paper for the Office of the Status of Women Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet August 1997

By Dr Clare Burton Employment Equity Researcher and Consultant Canberra

Dr Clare Burton (1942-1998) was a leading researcher, public sector administrator, academic and author in the area of employment equity.

"The following discussion provides current data on women's representation on private and public sector boards. It surveys the literature addressing the question of greater diversity in the membership of boards and seeks to answer the question, `why are there so few women in director positions?'. The paper then examines the likely effects on women's board representation of the better corporate governance practices which are increasingly demanded by company stakeholders. In the concluding section of the paper, recommendations are made regarding the furtherance of government policy on women's participation in government and company decision-making at the board level."

CONTENTS

• Introduction

• Comparative Data 

  Private Sector Boards

  Public Sector Boards

• The Benefits of Demographic Diversity on Boards

• Why are there so few women on Boards?

  What is looked for in a female director?

  Industry variation is inevitable

  Two major impediments to women's greater representation

• Forces for Change

• Increased interest in corporate governance

To view Dr Clare Burton's Research Paper, Women's Representation on Commonwealth and Private Sector Boards see: 

http://osw.dpmc.gov.au/mcburtb.cfm#women 

 

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Women in Public and Private Sector Senior Management

A Research Paper for the Office of the Status of Women Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet August 1997

By Clare Burton Employment Equity Researcher and Consultant Canberra

Dr Clare Burton (1942-1998) was a leading researcher, public sector administrator, academic and author in the area of employment equity.

"...there is no likelihood of an increase in women's representation in senior and executive positions continuing to occur unless employment conditions and practices are altered such that women in general are able to move more freely, upwards and laterally, within the labour market. Unless the general circumstances of women in employment are significantly improved, we will not succeed in broadening the pools from which managers are selected and developed. It is for this reason that relevant organisational dynamics - such as processes of initial job assignment and performance appraisal - at lower levels of organisations are considered in the following discussion."

CONTENTS

Introduction

Relevant Demographic and Statistical Data 

• Women in Management
• The Private Sector
• The Public Service

Men and Women Attribute different Causes to Women's low numbers in Senior Management Roles

Major Impediments 

• Impediment 1: Stereotypical beliefs about women's role, attributes, preferences and commitments

  Statistical discrimination based on stereotypes

  Stereotype 1: Women are associated with families and thus with disrupted careers

  Stereotype 2: Women are not equipped to function in executive and senior management positions

  The main effect of stereotyping: women are under-represented in operational roles and in the typical routes to senior management

• Impediment 2: Selection processes for entry to senior and executive management
• Impediment 3: Non-merit based

  Human Resource Management systems and practices

  Informality and subjectivity in HRM processes generally

  Informality and subjectivity in processes of selection for senior management positions

• Impediment 4: Inadequate provision to women of access to formal and informal developmental opportunities

The Business Case

• 1. The demographic argument
• 2. The value of diverse inputs into problem-solving
• 3. Consumer benefits are increased, new markets are developed and sales, profitability and service delivery are enhanced
• 4. There is improved performance and greater public and investor confidence in organisations with a record of good human resources practices
• 5. Evidence of a positive relationship between EEO initiatives and organisational performance
• 6. Discrimination is costly; EEO policies lead to lowered personnel-related costs
• Family-friendly policies
• Competition boosts male employees' performance
• 7. EEO and anti-discrimination policies lead to better HRM policies generally
• 8. EEO policies and women in senior positions have a positive influence on the organisational culture

To view Dr Clare Burton's Research Paper, Women in Public and Private Sector Senior Management see: 

http://osw.dpmc.gov.au/mcburtm.cfm#intro

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