The Star: March 08, 2018

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday March 8 2018 25
Viewpoint
•If you want to ask Ms Dalziel a question,
Local
email mayor@ccc.govt.nz. Put Reader’s
News
Question in the subject line
Now
Benefits of more women in power
Fire rages, homes at risk
TODAY WE celebrate
International Women’s Day.
It is as an opportunity to
reflect on what we have achieved,
as well as setting new goals for
the future.
With the World Economic
Forum’s 2017 Gender Gap
Report findings telling us that
gender parity is more than 200
years away, the call for action
this year has been captured by
the phrase #PressforProgress.
In New Zealand, we may be
celebrating 125 years of women’s
suffrage in September this year,
but we still have a long way to go.
In spite of a strong and growing
body of evidence to suggest
that gender diversity is of direct
benefit to business performance,
for example, women remain
under-represented in senior
management and on boards.
The New Zealand Census of
Women on Boards, which considers
the NZX top 100 boards,
shows that 22.17 per centof
board positions were female in
2017. Of the 614 board members
surveyed, 138 were women, seven
of the 100 chairs were women,
and three of these companies
had women chief executives.
I’m not sure what the executive
teams look like across those
BOARDROOM: Lianne Dalziel wants to change the fact that
women remain under-represented in senior management roles
and on boards.
companies, but I read somewhere
that women make up just
over 20 per cent of those senior
management positions as well.
Does this matter? It does if you
want to succeed.
Diversity is good for business
– plain and simple. We shouldn’t
have to claim this in the 21st
century, but for some reason
we constantly need to remind
people that bringing different
perspectives to the table creates
a much better environment for
problem-solving.
The opposite of diversity in
this regard can be ‘group think’
– everyone looks at a complex
problem the same way, applies
the same logic and surprise, surprise,
they come up with exactly
the same answer – only what if
it’s wrong or sub-optimal and
there is no one to challenge the
group?
There is plenty of evidence that
shows companies with women
on boards not only do financially
better than companies with
fewer women or without women
at all, they also enhance an
organisation’s performance and
reputation.
Sometimes I meet women who
don’t put themselves forward
for positions, because they don’t
think they have the right skill
set or they think the company is
looking for someone more qualified.
I always encourage them
to think about the value that a
different perspective and set of
life experiences can offer to an
organisation as it tackles challenging
issues. Don’t hold back,
is what I say.
Lianne Dalziel
When I talk to businessmen
about why I think it’s important
to engage women at this level,
they often tell me they are just
as committed to gender equity,
because they don’t want their
daughters and granddaughters
locked out of boardrooms or
management positions just because
they are women.
They want them to participate
on an equal footing and bring all
their talents to the fore. And they
know it’s good for business.
So I hope International
Women’s Day next year sees
further opportunities open up
for women as we all continue to
#PressforProgress.
•Note: the city council’s
draft Long Term Plan opens
for submissions tomorrow.
Please check out ccc.govt.
nz/haveyoursay and have
your say
•More Viewpoint, page 26
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