On board

Newsletter of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Nominations Service
September 2005

Welcome to the first newsletter for women who use the Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ Nominations Service.  Click here for a PDF version.

We will regularly update you on:

• progress toward our target of 50% women on government statutory bodies by 2010
• information on governance education and training courses
• news on recent appointments
• The Team
  

Annual appointments and reappointments of women rising steadily

There has been a steady improvement in these statistics over the last decade.

In 1993, 25% of the annual appointments and reappointments to government boards and committees were women.  Last year that figure rose to 43%.

This year, for the first time, we have been able to isolate the ‘new’ appointments figures from the reappointments.  The ‘new’ appointments show that in the last calendar year (2004), there were 683 ‘new’ appointees (excluding reappointments) to statutory bodies, and of those appointments 308 (45%) were women.

Women recently appointed to government statutory bodies

In the last three months appointments have been announced to over 90 boards -   too many to publish here, so we have listed just a few to illustrate the range of boards, and the women appointees.

A list of boards with women appointees, announced between May and August, is on the MWA website.   Just follow this link  www.mwa.govt.nz/women-on-boards/whats-new

So congratulations to all recent appointees including:

Charities Commission

• Judith Timpany appointed as deputy chair
• Amohaere Houkamau appointed
• Pat Webster appointed

Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology

• Philippa Cunningham appointed as chair
• Dr Christine Forster appointed
• Sharron Cole appointed

Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology

• Prof Sylvia Rumball appointed as chair
• Prof Cynthia Farquhar appointed
• Philippa McDonald appointed
• Christine Rogan appointed

Fiordland Marine Guardians

• Laurel Tierney appointed

Recreational Fishing Ministerial Advisory Committee

• Sheryl Hart appointed
• Lorraine Hill appointed

Auckland Conservation Board

• Denise Yates reappointed

Nominations Service Website Information

There is a range of useful governance information up on the MWA website. For example there are frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) about governance, an updated CV template, and a Self-Evaluation Check which enables people to assess whether they are potential candidates for nomination, and much more besides.  

Just follow this link  www.mwa.govt.nz/women-on-boards/whats-new

The appointments process

The appointments process is a very competitive one.  Agencies wanting to fill statutory board vacancies run a full recruitment process to identify suitable candidates.  In the recruitment process they identify the specific skills, competencies, and professional background or community experience they require.

They not only consult a range of database providers such as ours, they often publicly advertise to ensure the appointments process is open.  This means that at times there can be up to one hundred candidates for any given vacancy.
        

The Election brings a pause in board appointments

Appointments to state boards are almost at a stand-still right now. That is because of the convention that governments do not make significant board appointments in the three months prior to a general election.

We anticipate that appointments and nominations activity will start again around  November or December.  In the meantime, we are getting ready for what we believe will be a flood of requests for nominees once the process starts up again.

Governance Training Course – October

The University of Otago and the Boardroom Practice have combined forces to put together a five day governance training course in Auckland in October. Further information is available on the university’s website.

The Team

Joan Isaac
Nominations Manager
(04) 916 5849, email isaac@mwa.govt.nz

Sean Molloy
Nominations Advisor
(04) 916 5814, email molloy@mwa.govt.nz

If you have any queries about the information in this newsletter, or the Nominations Service in general, please contact Joan or Sean.

Ministry of Women's Affairs
PO Box 10049
48 Mulgrave Street
Thorndon
Wellington
04 9157112
04 9161604
mwa@mwa.govt.nz
www.mwa.govt.nz