- Hon Nicola Grigg
For the fifth consecutive year, women's representation on public sector boards and committees has reached 50 percent or above, with women now holding 52.1 percent of public sector board roles, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says.
Ms Grigg announced the results of the 2024 stocktake of gender and ethnic diversity on public sector boards and committees at an Institute of Directors event on Wednesday.
"I am delighted to see that women's representation in public sector governance remains strong, and that women also continue to be well-represented in Board chair positions - at 44.5 percent.
"We know that having more women in leadership not only brings about greater diversity but is better for business with a positive impact on financial performance and better decision making."
Ms Grigg says that Māori and ethnic diversity on public sector boards has also increased since collection of ethnicity data began in 2019.
"There are many great women leaders in New Zealand who have achieved amazing things. A big part of what we need to do now is inspire the next generation of leaders, and this includes identifying, supporting, and growing future generations of women in governance.
"This is a great achievement, but the work is not done. It's taken a deliberate and coordinated effort to achieve this result, and we continue to focus on ensuring we have gender-balanced boards appointed on merit that result in better governance practices, decision-making and financial performance and, ultimately, better outcomes for New Zealanders."
