On Board

Email Newsletter of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Nominations Service
May 2006

Welcome to the third edition of On Board, the newsletter for women who use the Nominations Service. Click here for a PDF version.

In this edition:  

• The New Zealand Census of Women’s Participation 2006
• New appointments of women to State Sector bodies
• Maximising the database
• Governance books to borrow from MWA
• Updating CVs
• Meeting the Team
  

The New Zealand Census of Women’s Participation 2006

The New Zealand Census of Women’s Participation 2006 was released earlier this month by Dr Judy McGregor, EEO Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission.

The Census answers the question “What progress are women making in joining men at the top in corporate governance and public life in New Zealand?”.  Unhappily much of it is dismal reading.

The Census measures women’s participation across the key sectors of governance, employment, politics, health and education.

Here are the summary results in our area of interest (these figures are the percentage of women on boards, except for the last, which is women in the workforce).


Dr McGregor says that “for the first time the Census includes discussion of strategies to improve the representation and participation of women in decision-making and public life, and promotes an agenda for change.”

The authors hope the Census results will be discussed and debated widely.

You can view it online at http://www.hrc.co.nz/index.php?p=44860, or if you would like copies of the Census you are welcome to contact:

Dr Judy McGregor, EEO Commissioner, judym@hrc.co.nz, telephone (04) 496 9770, or Dr Susan Fountaine, NZ Centre for Women and Leadership, s.l.fountaine@massey.ac.nz  telephone (06) 350 5799 ext. 2371

New appointments of women to State Sector bodies

And speaking of women in governance, there have been a number of new appointments over the last few months … so congratulations to the following women:

Agriquality Ltd Prof Caroline Saunders appointed Airways Corporation of New Zealand Ltd Anne Urlwin appointed as deputy chair Susan Paterson appointed Landcorp Farming Ltd Chrissie Williams appointed Marise James reappointed Meridian Energy Ltd Catherine Drayton appointed Mighty River Power Ltd Caroline Ball reappointed New Zealand Post Ltd Justine Smyth appointed Sara Lunam reappointed Quotable Value Ltd Jocelyn Martin reappointed Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd Adrienne Young-Cooper reappointed Transmission Holdings Ltd Janine Smith reappointed

New Zealand Qualifications Authority Sue Suckling appointed as chair The Correspondence School Trish McKelvey appointed as chair Claire Hague reappointed Polly Schaverien reappointed Midwifery Council Sue Bree reappointed Mina Timutimu reappointed Helenmary Walker reappointed Dr Rea Daellenbach reappointed Pharmacy Council Jo Mickleson appointed Andrea Shirtcliffe appointed Dr Judith Johnston appointed Dental Council Vicki Kershaw appointed Robyn Watson appointed Riria Handscomb appointed Northern X Regional Ethics Committee Adina Halpern appointed as chair Upper Southern A Regional Ethics Committee Dr Jane Kerr appointed.

Maximising the Database

Occasionally we receive requests that fall outside our usual processes.  These are requests to provide nominees for:

• statutory bodies looking for people to fill part-time or full-time roles such as Commissioners
• voluntary sector bodies
• bodies which require personally signed applications in addition to the information supplied by us.

When such a request comes in, we identify nominees who broadly fit the profile.  If you fit the profile you will receive an email from us telling you of the vacancy, providing you with the relevant information, and inviting you to either:

• apply directly to the appointing agency
• delete the email, or
• forward it to people you know who might be interested.

In this way we are making maximum use of the database, our women’s networks and potential opportunities.

Governance books to borrow from MWA

MWA Librarian, Claire Benson, has offered to make MWA library books on governance available to women registered on our database.

In this edition of On Board we have:

The complete guide to good governance in organisations and companies / Doug Matheson. Auckland, N.Z, 2004 This guide is for any organisation governed by a ‘board of directors’, ‘board of trustees’, ‘council’, ‘committee’ or similar governance structure.  It embraces not only corporate governance but also public sector, not-for-profit, membership and sports organisations and trusts.  It is a practical resource for chairmen, directors and management.   19021

Corporate governance in New Zealand: principles and guidelines Wellington : Securities Commission, 2004 Sets out nine Principles of Corporate Governance for application within a broad range of entities.  It aims at helping New Zealand directors and boards of all types of entities achieve consistently high standards in carrying out their corporate governance duties and responsibilities.   Comes with a summary handbook for Directors, Executives and Advisors. Online: http://www.sec-com.govt.nz/publications/documents/governance-principles/index.shtml 18441

Director's responsibilities: a working guide for New Zealand [Wellington] : PricewaterhouseCoopers : Institute of Directors in New Zealand, 1998- Focuses on how Directors can perform their duties in accordance with New Zealand’s legal requirements and the Institute of Directors’ standards by asking Directors to ask questions about themselves and the role and activities they perform, or intend to perform, in their companies. Online: http://www.pwc.com/images/nz/eng/ins-sol/publ/pwc_dr_2003.pdf 15549

Thin on top: why corporate governance matters and how to measure and improve board performance  / Bob Garratt. London : Nicholas Brealey, 2003 Demystifies the role of the chief executive officer (CEO), debunks myths of corporate governance and personal power and outlines a new system of metrics for boards and directors. 18427

Borrowing Books

When you want to borrow a profiled book, please email Information Services with the book number, title, your name, address and contact details including day phone number.

We lend books under the following conditions:

• Books are issued for a month
• We will post books to you via surface mail - please return in the same way
• If books are lost we will charge you the replacement cost.

Information Services @ Ministry of Women’s Affairs
Claire Benson, benson@mwa.govt.nz  Strategic Information Specialist (04) 916 5836, or Margaret Sissons, sissons@mwa.govt.nz  Information and Records Advisor (04) 916 5851

Updating CVs

It is always helpful to us (and most especially to you) if you keep your CV up-to-date.

If you have submitted a CV within the last year or two, just email us the changes or additions and we will act on that.  However, if your CV is more than two years old, please email us a new electronic copy.

If in doubt, then give us a call to discuss what to do - Joan (04) 916 5849 or Sean (04) 916 5814.

Meeting the Team

We are always pleased to meet and talk with women from our database.  It’s helpful to us to be able to expand our knowledge of you and ‘put a face to a name’.

If you are going to be in Wellington and have the time, just give Joan a call on (04) 916 5849, and we will set up a meeting.

Au revoir until the next edition.

The Team

Joan Isaac
Nominations Manager
(04) 916 5849, email isaac@mwa.govt.nz

Sean Molloy
Nominations Advisor
(04) 916 5814, email molloy@mwa.govt.nz

If you have any queries about the information in this newsletter, or the Nominations Service in general, please contact Joan or Sean.

Ministry of Women's Affairs
PO Box 10049
48 Mulgrave Street
Thorndon
Wellington
04 9157112
04 9161604
mwa@mwa.govt.nz
www.mwa.govt.nz