Minister calls for more women on Australia Post board

The Australian Government has ordered Australia Post to increase the number of women that serve on its board of directors. Finance minister Penny Wong said along with other government business enterprises, the Post should have at least 40% of its board represented by women, and that gender-diverse boards “show greater evidence of diversity of thought and perspective”.

She told a summit of the Global Banking Alliance for Women on Tuesday evening: “A key element of these reforms is requiring board chairs and responsible ministers to focus on gender diversity when appointing board members.”

The Australia Post board, which is accountable for the organisation’s overall performance, currently includes five men and two women, although two women have retired since summer 2010.

By comparison, Australia’s top 200 companies have on average just 9.2% of their boards comprising female members.

Currently, 29.1% of executive-level positions at Australia Post are filled by women, which has risen from 20.5% two years ago, while its executive committee includes one female out of six members.

In the Australia Post workforce as a whole, which numbers 34,000 full-time and part-time staff, 39.8% are female, a situation which has remained relatively stable over the past few years. About 33.7% of Australia Post’s managers are female.

The Labor-run Australian Government included a pledge within its 2010 election manifesto to have 40% female representation on public boards by 2015.

Wong said this week: “It is my view that the government should lead, rather than follow on gender equality.”

The Post Office Agents Association Ltd described the minister’s order as “highly commendable” yesterday, but added that it considered it “more important that there are members of the Australia Post Board who have postal industry experience”.

“Australia Post is a massive company – some might say that it is an Australian icon. It deserves the best quality directors possible,” said the group, which represents nearly 3,000 post office operators. “POAAL’s members deserve to know that Australia Post – the organisation on which they rely for their livelihood – is governed by a Board that has the skills and
competencies to protect their interests and those of the communities they serve.”