Insight for Sunday 14 November 2010

Despite women making up almost half of the workforce, fewer than one in ten of the directors of New Zealand's top listed companies are female.

While other countries are introducing quotas or reporting standards to address gender imbalances, many boardrooms here remain a firmly male bastion.

So what's stopping women breaking into the boardroom?

Are there enough suitable candidates or are old-boys networks keeping women off the governance ladder?

Photo: Director, Nicki Crauford, who says the low number of females on boards is a waste of talent.