NZ slips down international rankings for women in business

By NZPA

Thursday 8th March 2007

New Zealand is slipping down the rankings of an international survey of the percentage of women in the senior management of business.

In 2004, New Zealand ranked fourth equal in terms of female representation in business management in the Grant Thornton International Business Report. At that point the proportion was 31percent.

By 2007 that had slipped to 24% to give a ranking of 10th.
"This is very disappointing news," says Pam Newlove, Grant Thornton director of business advisory services for New Zealand.

"Perhaps because of the achievements of women in positions of prominence in New Zealand, there is probably a perception that women are doing well in business," she said. "The reality is that, in the bigger picture, women have lost ground."

The survey comes as Theresa Gattung prepares to leave the role of chief executive of the country's largest listed company Telecom on June 30.

New Zealand still ranks ahead of Australia in the survey, where the level of female representation stayed constant between 2004 and 2007 at 22%.

The top nine in the survey, in order, are the Philippines (50%), Brazil (42%), Thailand (39%), Hong Kong (35%), Russia (34%), mainland China (32%), Botswana (31%), South Africa and Taiwan (both 29%).

In New Zealand, the proportion of actual businesses with women in senior management positions fell from 69% in 2004 to 63% now, leaving New Zealand in equal 18th position internationally on this scale.

Of the 150 New Zealand businesses surveyed, 37% had no women in senior management, 40% had only one, 13% had two, and 10% had three or more.

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