15 April 2010

BPWNZ Media Release - For immediate use

Women on boards – bouquets and brickbats

BPWNZ deplores the fact that Mr Joyce has only appointed 20 women out of 78 to the Polytechnics councils – a mere quarter.

“The Minister for Tertiary Education, Steven Joyce surely deserves the brickbats award,” says Angela McLeod, President of the New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPWNZ).

This is especially so given that nearly 50% of the graduates from polytechnics are women and that it’s proven world-wide that gender diversity on boards increases the bottom line.

“This government is sending the women of New Zealand mixed messages”

“One day, one minister appoints a group with great gender diversity and the next, quite the opposite”

The Welfare Working Group set up by the Minister of Social Welfare, Paula Bennett, has good gender balance with 6 women and 4 men. The Minister has obviously taken in to consideration the skills and gender of her appointees so that the impact of their decisions on beneficiaries and their families will be well analysed.

“The Minister of Social Welfare deserves a bouquet”

Previous National Party Prime Minister Jenny Shipley promised that we would have 50% of women on boards by the year 2000 and today at a measly 8.6% in the public sector, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Pansy Wong declared that she is “determined to be the catalyst of change” for gender diversity on boards.

“To earn a bouquet, Mr Joyce needs to follow in the footsteps of his colleague”

ENDS

© Scoop Media