'Pressure growing' over boardroom diversity in Australia

1 February 2010

Australia's private sector organisations are set to come under increasing pressure to consider gender equality in the boardroom this year, it has been claimed.

The Herald Sun reports that companies will be required to show transparency in their board recruitment policies as part of the government's ongoing review of how large businesses are run.

A draft version of a new diversity policy is expected to be published by the Australian Securities Exchange's (ASX) corporate governance council in the first half of 2010.

The council has proposed that listed companies be required to formulate and publicly disclose diversity objectives relating to gender.

In addition, the recent appointment of Jill Broadbent to the ASX is expected to further drive the pressure for reform in corporate boardrooms.

The ASX was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in December 2006.