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Bridget Liddell - Source: ONE News -
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The elite of New Zealand's female business community will gather in Auckland next week to discuss what can be done about the lack of representation of women in senior management and boardrooms.
The forum is being hosted by New Zealand Global Women, a not for profit network of senior women business leaders set up earlier this year in response to the issue.
New York based member Bridget Liddell, a managing principal for Fahrenheit Ventures, is a keynote speaker at the forum.
She says women account for just 1% of chief executives and 9% of directors in New Zealand's top 100 companies.
"Coming into our organisation are a predominance of extremely talented and very capable women who are at various points of their careers and who are reaching break points where they just can't advance any further," she says.
Liddell believes a lack of awareness of the poor statistics, and a lack of awareness of what women can contribute strategically, are to blame.
"It comes down to the individual but I think the contention is that women have a very valuable role to play, and to have a position where only 9% of directors are women is...sub-optimal economically," she says.
Liddell says there are subtle differences in decision making between men and women in the boardroom. Women, she says, tend to take a holistic view, thinking about social and environmental issues for example, and having a broader definition of stakeholders.
Women also have valuable input give from a female perspective, with the majority of consumers of many companies being women.
"The organisations that do have a predominance of women do find that the diversity of opinion in the boardroom, and at senior management level, is extremely helpful for good decision making," says Liddell.
Other keynote speakers at the forum include former prime minister Jenny Shipley, Kim Crawford wines marketer Erica Crawford, and Ezibuy CEO Mary Devine.
The forum takes place Tuesday November 17.
