Institute highlights inequality

Business

By PETER ESILA
THERE remains an under-representation of women in senior leadership positions and company boards, according to the PNG Institute of Directors.
Institute president Anthony Yauieb said it remained one of PNG’s development challenges.
Yauieb said the institute recently released copies of the board gender diversity consultation paper to companies on steps it would take to address the under-representation of qualified women on company boards.
“This is a key objective in our strategic plan but it also encompasses various initiatives that will allow us to expand the value proposition for our members – male and female,” he said.
Yauieb said the issue was not reflective of the existing pool of women talent and of the enormous potential of girls and women to contribute to national advancement.
“We proposed a four-point plan to address gender gaps in boards of directors,” he said.
“We propose to secure at least 30 per cent female board representation by 2030 for major companies and public bodies.
“The institute is unaware of any specific research done for PNG of the impact of board gender diversity on the financial performance of businesses.”
However, Yauieb said there were studies from other countries which showed that greater gender diversity on boards improves financial performance reflected in return on equity and return on assets according to International Finance Corporation 2019 and International Labour Organisation 2019.
“While the evidence is mixed with respect to the impact of share prices, it has been suggested that this is due to analyst or investor bias affecting the statistical results.”