Board diversity produces better results: ACSI

More diverse corporate boards produce better long term results, according to the president of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), Gerard Noonan.

Noonan's comments, contained in the ACSI annual report, have been made public just a week after the independent Senators joined with the Australian Labor Party to reject the Government's proposed change to superannuation fund governance arrangements to bring them more into line with companies publicly-listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Noonan was referring to ACSI's campaign for greater representation for women on corporate boards, and said "the evidence is already in that more diverse corporate boards produce better long term results. And that means a better retirement outcome for super fund members".

He said that ACSI had a target of having at least 30 per cent women on their boards by 2017 and said he believed that progress was being made.

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The changes to fund governance arrangements would have imposed at least one-third independent directors on super fund boards, inclusive of an independent chairman.

The ACSI annual report claimed progress not only in terms of the representation of women on corporate boards but in terms of executive remuneration.

Noonan said the base rate pay of chief executives had actually lagged inflation since the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

"Prior to 2009, the average CEO's salary of Australia's largest 100 companies was a champagne-popping 93 times average weekly earnings," he said.

"Now it's down to 63 times average weekly earnings. That's better, but our survey has discovered that 'undisclosed' payments have been creeping up steadily, so there's more work to be done."