Women’s representation on public sector boards above 50 percent

Women continue to hold half of public sector board and committee roles, according to the 2025 stocktake of gender and ethnic diversity released today by Minister for Women Nicola Grigg.

“The evidence is clear that balanced boards lead to better outcomes and the input of women is vital to New Zealand’s productivity, growth and resilience,” Ms Grigg says.

The annual stocktake shows women hold 50.2 percent of public sector board and committee roles, marking the sixth consecutive year women’s representation has remained above the Government’s 50 percent target.

Women also hold 43.8 percent of board chair roles, significantly higher than the 31.7 percent recorded in 2015 when chair data was first collected.

“It is encouraging that women’s representation on public sector boards has remained above 50 percent again this year.

“We need to keep building that momentum by strengthening the pipeline of women ready for board roles through the refreshed governance database BoardConnector. The database now includes more than 1,100 women seeking board opportunities, and half of those are at an experienced level.

“There’s no shortage of skilled, qualified women ready to contribute in the boardroom. We’re building on that by encouraging more women to register with BoardConnector, to further broaden the talent pipeline and the range of skills available.

“We’re working with both the public and private sectors on opportunities to support women in governance and ensure that appointing agencies have strong candidates. This includes partnering with the Institute of Directors, organisations, and leadership services that are committed to supporting board opportunities for women,” Ms Grigg says. ...