More Māori wāhine taking up public sector board positions

Acting Minister for Women Louise Upston.

Māori board members held 27.5% of roles on public sector boards in 2023, up from 26.8% in 2022.

That’s the result from the latest survey of public sector boards and committees.

Acting Minister for Women Louise Upston says women’s representation reached 50 per cent or above for the fourth consecutive year, with women holding 53.9% of public sector board roles, up from 41.1% in 2012.

.

Just over 46% of chairs were women.

Māori and ethnic diversity of public sector boards has also continued to increase since data collection for ethnicities on boards began in 2019.

Upston says she’s thrilled to see many women from ethnic backgrounds step into governance roles, as greater representation of women has a positive impact on social outcomes, decision-making, and financial performance.

Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women’s 2022 stocktake of public sector boards and committees shows for the fourth year in a row, there is equal gender representation on public sector boards.

Upston wants to see more diverse representation in private sector leadership and governance.

Adam Gifford, WaateaNews.Com