The first week of November was Gender Diversity Week, which is a sad reminder that no country has yet achieved gender equality.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2012, released in late October, shows New Zealand ranked sixth out of 135 countries, having closed 78% of the gap between men and women. New Zealand, along with 19 other countries, ranked first equal for completely closing the gender gap in educational attainment. Rankings were lower for political empowerment at ninth place and economic participation and opportunity at fifteenth place. Data in the report adds to the mounting body of evidence that gender diversity directly benefits business performance, productivity and economic competitiveness.

Studies in 2007 by McKinsey & Company and Catalyst showed that companies with more women on their boards or in top management positions tended to be more profitable. A recent study by the Credit Suisse Research Institute found that from 2005 to 2011 across 2,400 companies in 46 countries, those with at least one woman on the board outperformed those without women by 26%.

Last year Goldman Sachs found closing the gap between male and female employment rates would boost New Zealand’s GDP by 10%. The report also identified the lack of women in leadership and on boards as needing urgent attention. Its analysis of 82 of the top 100 NZX-listed companies found only 11% of board positions were held by women; 45% had no women on their boards; and in companies based outside Auckland or Wellington, 63% had no women on their board. While state sector boards and committees boast 41% of women members, they still fall short of the 50% target set in the 1980s.

Some action for creating pipelines for women into leadership and directorships is underway through the 25 Percent Group, NZX, Global Women, and Women on Boards New Zealand. A handful of New Zealand companies have signed on to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles that are designed to intensify efforts to bring women in at all levels of business.

But as the November 2012 McKinsey article, ‘The Global Gender Agenda’, states, “many more committed leaders need to prioritise treating gender diversity like any other strategic business initiative. Leaders need to ask for and talk about the data, establish a culture of sponsorship, and raise awareness of what a gender diverse work environment looks like.” Shifting mind sets and changing behaviour needs champions.