Beyond women, the wider question of what constitutes diversity is mentioned from time to time. It needs attention and is probably harder to understand than achieving gender balance in the workplace which is a relatively straightforward exercise. Our
Boardroom Diversity Index is a great place to see how what gets measured, gets managed and what get's managed, get's done.
I was planning to expound more about the WOB Boardroom Diversity Index this edition, but the following email from the Victorian Women’s Register received on IWD was just too tempting to pass up.
It read - ‘Incentives to join Victorian Government Boards.' So far, so good.
It went on....
Happy International Women's Day!
Do you want to gain experience on a government board?
Do you want to connect with your local community?
Do you want to attend a free governance training course?
Again, so far, so good, However if you answered yes to any of these questions, then you found out you could be the perfect candidate to join none other than ...
your local volunteer cemetery trust. Worthy boards, but fairly hilarious when you consider the timing.
To be fair, the Victorians are trying very hard to appoint 50% women to all of their boards - even the cemetery trusts of which Victoria appears to have thousands. Hats off to them.
As a footnote, I also had the pleasure of chatting with Harrison Young last week (a man for all seasons and CBA Board member) on topics as diverse as WOB, spying, books and China. For an insight into Chinese culture I recommend his latest thriller ‘The Daughters of Henry Wong’. A gripping read!