1 July 2015

, Minister for Women

Tasmanian Government committed to 50% representation of women on boards

The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to increasing the number of women on boards as a critical step to reducing disadvantage and improving democratic governance.

That is why the Government is committed to a target of 50 per cent representation of women across Tasmanian Government boards and committees by July 2020.

The release today of the Women on Boards Strategy 2015-20 is aimed at addressing the gender imbalance of membership of government boards and committees and increasing that representation to at least 50%.

Gender equality is a complex matter and cannot be addressed by Government alone. In addition to women being denied opportunities, there is also an unconscious gender bias in the community where leadership is seen as the domain of men. This requires changing community attitudes to women.

Previous state governments have failed to effectively increase the percentage of women on government boards and committees with the percentage remaining about 34%, so a pro-active 5-year plan has been proposed to increase that to at least 50%.

The revised Women on Boards Strategy 2015-20 places a stronger emphasis and greater accountability on the Tasmanian Government and the Tasmanian State Service to lead by example and appoint more women to Board positions to address the Government’s target of equal gender representation.

The Women on Boards Strategy 2015-20 outlines the actions for achieving this and also complements the Tasmanian Women’s Plan 2013-18 (Tasmania’s gender equality agenda) which strives to break down the barriers that produce inequities for women and girls.

Equal participation by all members of society is critical to reducing disadvantage, enhancing economic growth and democratic governance as well as increasing the wellbeing of all Tasmanians.

Gender equity has also proven to be an asset for corporations, positively affecting their performance, productivity, the bottom line as well as the corporate image.  

Some actions contained within the Strategy aimed at increasing the number of women on government boards include:

• From July 2015, all new boards and committees will have a target of 50 per cent representation of women.

• From July 2015, appointments to all existing boards will need to factor in the target of 50 per cent representation of women as vacancies fall due and new members are recruited to fill them.

• The Government will establish a member only group on the social networking site LinkedIn. Women and men will be invited to join the group to receive advice about board vacancies, information about training and development and invitations to attend networking events.

• The Government will contribute up to $50 000 per year for three years towards the cost of scholarships for women to undertake training through the AICD, including the Company Directors Course and Foundations of Directorship course. The Department of Premier and Cabinet will develop guidelines for the administration of the scholarship funding.

To view a copy of the Strategy please visit – http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/csrt/programs_and_services/women_on_boards_and_committees

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