By 3 News online staff
The NZX have announced a new rule requiring all listed companies to disclose how many women they have on their boards and senior management.
It's a decision still awaiting the tick from the financial markets authority, though a similar rule introduced in saw a jump in the number of women on boards listed on the stock exchange.
Corporate law and governance specialist Silvana Schenone spoke to Firstline this morning, saying there are many women who can succeed at a high level in New Zealand.
“I think it’s not a problem of skills or talent, I think there’s plenty of talented women, there is a natural inclination to appoint people to boards that have already been there, that are similar to the ones that are on the board, so there is a bit of ‘we’re men and we appoint other people in our network’, I think that is changing though,” she told the show.
An oft-quoted reason for a lack of women at a senior level is many women leave work to raise children and find it difficult to work flexible hours.
While many women don't have children, Mrs Schenone says those who do definitely find it difficult to adjust.
“It is hard though to find the right balance between family life and work, and if you take time out to take care of your young children […] then it becomes a bit harder to go back to your career,” she says.
Overall though she believes there are some positive moves being made.
“New Zealand is on the right track, I think we have the right mentoring […] and I think we have the right understanding of flexibility,” she says.
3 News