AMP LIMITED Not for release or distribution in the US Almost one-third of Australian companies AMP Capital invests in still have no women directors, according to AMP Capital's latest Corporate Governance Report. However, the report states there has been significant improvement from five years ago where 60 per cent of companies in AMP Capital's portfolio had no female representation on their boards. AMP Capital Corporate Governance Manager Karin Halliday said there remains a strong business case for further improvements in gender diversity. Companies that embrace such diversity at board level not only benefit from different perspectives but are also more likely to effectively question and challenge ideas, making decisions more robust. "Discussions around gender diversity have evolved from being the 'right thing' to the 'smart thing' to do, with gender-diverse companies more likely to attract and retain the ideal mix of high-calibre staff," said Ms Halliday. The AMP Capital Corporate Governance Report considers how the boards of Australian companies it invests in could reach the 30-per-cent-women target set by the 30% Club. The club, which is a group of predominantly UK-based business leaders committed to achieving better gender balance at all levels of organisations, has recently commenced in Australia. Currently only 10 per cent of the 252 Australian companies held by AMP Capital meet the target. To get that figure to 100 per cent, AMP Capital identifies several options such as replacing 269 male directors with women or adding 400 women directors at a total cost of approximately $45 million per annum. The report also compares international approaches to gender diversity. Success has been achieved in some European countries due to the introduction of quotas while in East Asian countries, such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, there is a high proportion of women in senior management because of the traditional family structure where multiple generations live with or near each other providing in-built childcare infrastructure. "If the rate of improvement in Australia slows, the introduction of prescriptive quotas may well be necessary, although there are positives and negatives to implementing this approach. While quotas may increase the speed of female appointments to boards, there is the inevitable risk of criticism that appointments were based on gender and not talent or merit," said Ms Halliday. Gender diversity is just one of the sustainability drivers considered by AMP Capital's environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment research team. This edition of the Corporate Governance Report also provides a review of the ESG factors impacting the Australian food and beverage sector and discusses the part unconventional gas plays in the transition to a low-carbon economy. As AMP Capital engages with companies and holds them to account for their actions in relation to a range of sustainability drivers, the report also provides a summary of recent and upcoming engagement themes. About the report: AMP Capital takes its responsibilities as an investment manager, an agent of shareholders and steward of its clients' assets seriously and twice-yearly releases an overview of proxy voting and engagement activity via the Corporate Governance Report. During the July to December 2014 proxy season, AMP Capital submitted votes on 1351 resolutions at 241 company meetings. Of these resolutions, 89 per cent were supported. AMP Capital either voted against or specifically abstained from voting on around 11 per cent of resolutions. In the full year 2014 the number of remuneration reports AMP Capital supported has continued to rise; this year 84 per cent was supported, up significantly from the 2008 low of 61 per cent.
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