Champions for Change co-chairwoman and ANZ chief executive Antonia Watson. Photo / Supplied
Champions for Change co-chairwoman and ANZ chief executive Antonia Watson. Photo / Supplied
A collective of top New Zealand bosses have warned that businesses that don’t take diversity seriously will end up falling behind.
Champions for Change, an organisation made up of 80 CEOs and chairs at top companies, says that Aotearoa’s rapidly changing demographic profile means that some businesses that don’t evolvecould end up becoming disconnected from the people they hire and sell to.
These comments come off the back of the annual Champions for Change Diversity Equity and Inclusion report, which tracks member progress year-on-year against several key DE&I measures.
The latest figures showed a 2 per cent improvement from 2022, with women now accounting for 39 per cent of board positions across the companies who have joined Champions for Change.
The survey shows 54 per cent of these corporates now have at least 40 per cent of women on their boards compared to last year.
But not every company included has made the same level of progress. IBM (60 per cent), Transpower (57 per cent), NZTE (57 per cent), Meridian Energy (57 per cent), Contact Energy (57 per cent), Air New Zealand (57 per cent) and Auckland International Airport (56 per cent) all have more than 55 per cent female representation on their boards.
On the other side of the spectrum, Toyota has no female representation, while IAG New Zealand (20 per cent), BNZ (25 per cent), ASB (29 per cent), Fletcher Building (29 per cent), Goodman Property (29 per cent) and Whakaata Māori (29 per cent) still lag well behind the 40 per cent target.
It’s also worth noting that the overall improvement in the last 12 months is incremental at best and could easily slip back in the event that even a handful of female board members resign. The female CEO numbers aren’t great either, with only 28 per cent of the participating businesses led by a female boss. Speaking toThe Front Page podcast, Champions for Change co-chairwoman and ANZ chief executive Antonia Watson admits this context is important when looking at the data.
“The numbers are small anyway, so one or two can change them in either direction,” says Watson.
“Change is happening and it would be great if it was faster, but you can’t just magic up female CEOs from anywhere. You need to have them represented at the next level down. Right now, we have 38 per cent at that level, so the pool is bigger.”
The population is changing, so are businesses keeping up? Photo / Getty Images
One important disclaimer with this data is that it is limited to organisations that are committed to diversity and have shown that commitment by signing on to the Champions for Change requirement for transparent reporting on these numbers. This invariably means these companies aren’t necessarily reflective of what’s happening across the broader business community, as evidenced by the huge gap between Champions for Change organisations and the NZX50.
Among the NZX50 companies, only 30 per cent of board positions are occupied by women – a figure that lags behind the S&P100 (31 per cent), the ASX200 (34 per cent) and the FTSE350 (36 per cent).
“Across the NZX50, we’ve got 12 per cent of female CEOs, so that’s six out of 50. So that’s not as much as Champions for Change, where we’ve got 28 per cent. That’s why we’re encouraging businesses who are committed to join our organisation and have some skin in the game to be reporting numbers every year.”
While businesses are tracking in the right direction when it comes to gender diversity, progress has been slower when it comes to the question of ethnicity.
Even among the Champions for Change organisations, workers identifying as European make up 77 per cent of all board and senior management roles. Asian employees make up a further 11 per cent, while Māori account for only 5 per cent and Pacific people come in at 2 per cent.
Watson says it’s incredibly important for New Zealand to address this as the population continues to change.
She points to population estimates suggesting that in the future, 35 per cent of the potential workforce under 14 will identify as Māori.
“If we haven’t got pathways for them to come into the workforce and get to the senior roles, then we won’t have any workers left,” Watson says.
“It’s really important to understand the demographic make-up of New Zealand and where we’re going, because we need to make sure that our organisations are thriving in the future… Research will tell you that the more diverse you are and the more you look like your customers and stakeholders, the more successful you’ll be as well.”
A 30-year-old boss
As the country’s population ages, this will also start to have a pronounced effect on the dynamics of the workforce.
KPMG executive chairman and co-chairman of Champions for Change Matt Prichard tellsThe Front Pagepodcast this will ultimately lay bare the generational divide in wealth.
Matt Prichard, Champions for Change co-chairman and executive chairman of KPMG New Zealand.
“Age is the new frontier of diversity in our workplaces,” says Prichard.
“We’re living longer and staying healthier, which means we can work longer, and this is great for New Zealand’s productivity. The big challenge in this country is that we’re creating a big wealth and equity gap between generations. And that’s going to be challenging for society and workplaces.”
This could become awkward for both the older and younger generations in the future.
“How’s it going to feel to be 70 in the workplace reporting to your 30-year-old boss? How’s the 30-year-old manager, who can’t afford a mortgage, going to feel about a 70-year-old team member who’s probably living mortgage-free and wanting to work three or four days a week?”
If businesses aren’t thinking about how to navigate through these issues now, this could be to the detriment of workplace culture in the future. Whether it’s a case of gender, ethnic or age diversity, businesses need to respond to the shifting dynamics or risk becoming disconnected from the people they’re trying to attract as customers.
Listen to the full episode ofThe Front Pageto hear an in-depth discussion with Watson and Prichard.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.
