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Changes to government policy, deregulation and corporatization in New Zealand have influenced the number and status of women on boards of directors. Using company records, archival material and interviews, examines gender equity on boards of directors in New Zealand and compares the progress of women on the boards of corporate companies in the private sector with those on crown company boards in the public sector. While increasing numbers of New Zealand women are entering the business arena, they continue to be underrepresented in the boardrooms and there exists a clear disparity between gender representation on the boards of crown and corporate companies with women being disadvantaged in the private sector. Includes interview material from women who have successfully achieved directorships and examines the approaches they adopted. Outlines some positive steps to assist women in the bid for corporate directorship, but suggests that the challenge of changing corporate and societal attitudes remains.

Changes to government policy, deregulation and corporatization in New Zealand have influenced the number and status of women on boards of directors. Using company records, archival material and interviews, this paper seeks to examine gender equity on boards of directors in New Zealand and compare the progress of women on the boards of corporate companies in the private sector with those on crown company boards in the public sector.

The paper includes interview material from women who have successfully achieved directorships and examines the approaches they adopted. The paper uses company records and interviews to achieve this aim.

While increasing numbers of New Zealand women are entering the business arena, they continue to be underrepresented in the boardrooms and there exists a clear disparity between gender representation on the boards of crown and corporate companies with women being disadvantaged in the private sector.

The paper outlines some positive steps to assist women in the bid for corporate directorship, but suggests that the challenge of changing corporate and societal attitudes remains.

Discrimination matters Volume 22 Number 2 of Health Manpower Management contains an article with this title by Catherine M. Prest, which outlines the changes in legal restrictions on the eligibility of dismissed employees to pursue unfair dismissal claims. Includes a discussion of recent decisions in this area and assesses the impact of these decisions on personnel practice and disciplinary procedures.

While the absence of female directors on corporate boards in New Zealand is controversial, little is known about the first wave of women in boardrooms in the private sector. This benchmark study, a questionnaire survey, provides the first demographic data about females in the boardrooms of the top 200 companies. The findings show that only 4.4 per cent of directors of major companies in New Zealand are female. Analyses the relevant skill base for directorship, the barriers to recruitment and male cronyism as a factor in the gender imbalance. The findings show that a high public profile is important for women wanting to open the boardroom door. Suggests that agencies which target potential directors apply conservative criteria which discriminate against the qualified but untested female candidate.