Page 21 - IB FEB 2017

Women
women to the fore

Bank governor calls for greater effort

FIJI’s central bank wants to see more
women on the boards of companies list-
ed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange.
Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor, Barry
Whiteside, said there was a need for
women of merit on these boards.
Whiteside, who is also chairman of the
Capital Market Advisory and Develop-
ment Taskforce, said that there was a
general consensus that gender diversity
based on merit needed to be seriously
considered at the board or top manage-
ment level.
The notion of gender diversity on
boards of listed companies had become
an integral indicator of corporate gov- RBF Governor Barry Whiteside Photo: File
ernance, he said. “There is a need to change the mind- be given to candidates with the right
Women hold less than 10 per cent of set and make a serious commitment in expertise instead of solely focussing on
board positions and approximately 60 supporting gender diversity on boards those with prior board experiences.”
per cent of the companies listed on the based on merit. Consideration must also n Invictus News and Features Service
SPSE do not have a single woman as
fied board candidates,” Whiteside said. ‘ It is time
part of their boards.
“It is time that companies took action
to break this glass ceiling and take ad-
vantage of this untapped pool of quali-

“These statistics also highlight the that
need for talent development and invest- companies
ment in leadership taking into consid-
eration gender diversity.” took
Meanwhile, the Bank is in the pro-
cess of reviewing the current Corporate action
Governance Code for the Capital Market
to address this issue and would like to to break
see that as a goal at least 20 per cent of
board members are to be women over this glass
the next five years.
Whiteside said this could only be ceiling
achieved as part of a collaborative move-
ment and the listed companies could and take
take a lead in championing this policy advantage
stance in their respective companies.
He said there was also a need for em- of this
ployers to release potential candidates
regardless of gender to serve on boards untapped
when called upon.
Such an initiative, he said, was pool of
aligned with the objectives of Fiji’s
National Gender Policy as well as the qualified
Sustainable Development Goal 5 – Gen-
der Equality. board
“The need to mainstream gender in
the financial sector is a priority for the candidates ‘
Reserve Bank,” Whiteside said.

Islands Business, February 2017 21