Catching up: Fortescue gets a woman on board
Until the appointment, Fortescue was the only company in the ASX top 50 that had no female representation on its board.
It comes as companies have been trying to increase the number of women on boards following the introduction of ASX Corporate Governance Council diversity requirements on January 1, 2011, which requires listed companies to post in their annual reports the proportion of women on their boards, in senior management and throughout the organisation.
Mr Forrest said on Friday the board did not feel under pressure to appoint a woman to the board.
"I certainly didn't feel pressure," he said. "We were specific in our instructions to a global search firm that we didn't want to be introduced to household names but wanted them to find some up-and-comers showing enormous talent and entrepreneurial flair," he said.
The board finally decided to appoint Elizabeth Gaines, who has a background in accounting. Mr Forrest said before her appointment she was invited to attend a board meeting as an observer.
"I can say that we had a shortlist of some other very impressive names, but Elizabeth attended the board meeting and when she spoke the board listened to her intently because of her experience," he said.
Fortescue also appointed the highly regarded former managing director of Worley Parsons, Peter Meurs, as an executive director. Meurs is currently a director of development at Fortescue.
The two appointments have been made to beef up the board as the company ramps up iron ore production to 155 million tonnes a year at its Solomon Mines operation.
Mr Forrest was quick to point out that Ms Gaines' appointment was based on merit.
"I don't believe appointments should be tokenistic. We have to be careful about doing that," he said.
"I would like to have more women on boards, but it shouldn't be based on gender but merit."
It comes as the debate continues about quotas. Earlier this month Sydney investment banker and company director Peter Hunt was reported in the media calling for the Corporations Act to introduce a board quota of 25 per cent of women.
"This is the elephant in the room - we are seeing incremental change when we need a paradigm shift," Mr Hunt reportedly said.
Since the ASX introduced diversity requirements the number of women on the ASX 200 boards has jumped from 8.2 per cent to more than 15.4 per cent.
However, an estimated 51 companies in the ASX 200 - a quarter of Australia's top 200 listed companies - still have no women on their boards.
While the statistics get better as the companies get bigger, there is still a long way to go.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Fortescue Metals appointed its first woman to the board since listing in 2005, Elizabeth Gaines, and also named Peter Meurs — the former managing director of Worley Parsons — as an executive director, boosting the board as the company ramps up operations.
Elizabeth Gaines has an accounting background and was shortlisted after a global search. She attended a board meeting as an observer and impressed the directors with her experience — the board and Andrew Forrest said her appointment was based on merit rather than tokenism.
Peter Meurs was appointed as an executive director. He is the highly regarded former managing director of Worley Parsons and was serving as Fortescue’s director of development prior to the appointment.
The two appointments were made to strengthen the board as Fortescue ramps up iron ore production to 155 million tonnes a year at its Solomon Mines operation.
No. Andrew Forrest said the board did not feel pressured to appoint a woman and that they specifically sought up‑and‑comers, not household names. He emphasised the appointment was on merit and said he didn’t support tokenistic selections.
The ASX Corporate Governance Council introduced diversity requirements on January 1, 2011, requiring listed companies to disclose in annual reports the proportion of women on boards, in senior management and throughout the organisation.
Since the ASX diversity requirements were introduced, the proportion of women on ASX 200 boards has risen from 8.2% to more than 15.4%, but an estimated 51 companies in the ASX 200 still have no women on their boards.
Yes. The article notes debate over quotas, including a proposal by Sydney investment banker Peter Hunt to introduce a 25% board quota for women under the Corporations Act, while others, like Andrew Forrest, argue appointments should be based on merit rather than fixed quotas.
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