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School Board Composition – Should your Board Adopt a Diversity Policy?

10/08/16
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School boards have often been referred to as 'conservative school boards'. This is not a new description and, interestingly, it is also one shared by boards in corporate Australia. However, it is growing more apparent that school boards are increasingly looking to balance not only their overall skills base, but also their age and gender diversity.

There are numerous scholarly articles that discuss the composition of boards, and the attributes and value that a balanced composition - in terms of skills, gender, and age - can bring to any organisation. However, school boards do not regularly promote diversity from a cultural perspective.  Culture and its definition can be a difficult exercise, as was noted in recent School Governance article,  ‘Schools have to step outside of their cultural boundaries and look inwards in order to realise the impact that their culture has on the behaviour of their students and staff’.

Discussions regarding gender balance on some ‘conservative boards’ may be viewed as a paradigm shift in board culture and can be met with scepticism and cynicism. On the other hand, if managed appropriately, boards may understand that developing a suitable gender balance will enhance the ability of the board to better deliver the vision and mission of the school.

School boards are ordinarily constructed on the basis of the school constitution and the rules of association or incorporation. The constitution sets out the expected numbers, roles, and responsibilities of the school board. The constitution may indicate, for example, that there must be one or two parent representatives. It may also indicate that the school principal is an ex-officio member of the board. Constitutions rarely, if ever, stipulate a gender or age composition, or the balance of a board - although some constitutions provide direction on the inclusion of alumni ex-students and the qualifications required of a board treasurer or secretary.

Some State and Territory regulators are now reviewing school board composition and are including regulatory guidelines within their documentation for school registration and compliance. For example, in Western Australia, the Department of Education Services in their Guide to the Registration Standards and Other Requirements for Non-government Schools 2016 note:

‘The school’s governing body should have members with a range of skills and experience. Where possible the governing body should include a member with business and financial expertise (that is, a member of a recognised accounting body, an experienced bursar, or person with a history of working in finance in another capacity). Where a governing body does not have members with the necessary skills and experience it should have access to people with such expertise to inform its decision-making.’

Other organisations are also developing guidelines to encourage their organisations to not only look at their board’s skill base, but to also consider its gender balance. For example, the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania in its Synod Standing Committee 2016 Report noted:

‘[The] Standing Committee approved the updated Property Board Bylaws, and requested the Property Board to consider the matter of membership up to a maximum of nine years, taking into account the issues related to Property Trust membership and gender balance (SC 14.54.1C).'

In 2015 The Conversation outlined the sweeping changes that have taken place in Norway regarding gender balances for boards. Statistics quoted for the percentage of women on boards included: USA 19%, Japan 3%, and Norway 35.5%. According to the Australian Institute of Company Directors, in Australia, the latest percentage of women on ASX 200 boards is 23.4% (30 June 2016).

The article argued that Norway’s success at having such a comparatively high percentage of women on boards was largely the result of the country’s introduction of quotas. In 2003 the Norwegian government passed a law (commencing in 2006) that required companies to enforce boards with a 40% composition of women.

Cultural change can be difficult, and particularly so if there is a significant change in culture required over a short period of time. Recent School Governance articles have considered this very point. However, the Norwegian study indicates for us that when an incentive such as a law is passed, this ‘encourages’ organisations to take the extra steps and required effort to implement cultural change. According to The Conversation’s piece, the quota law has largely become a non-issue in Norway.

Recently, as reported  by ABC News, Senator Nick Xenophon has introduced a bill for government boards in Australia titled, Australian Government Boards (Gender Balanced Representation) Bill 2015. The Senator has said that, “It's essentially about enforcing the existing "aspirational" or non-binding government policy, introduced by the former Gillard government in 2010. This set a target of 40 per cent men, 40 per cent women, and 20 per cent of either for all government boards.”

The ASX Corporate Governance Council released the most recent edition of the Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations in 2014. In this latest edition the ASX moved on diversity, encouraging firms to improve the composition of women, and other diverse groups, on boards. Recommendation 1.5 states that an entity should have a diversity policy "which includes requirements for the board or a relevant committee of the board to set measurable objectives for achieving gender diversity and to assess annually both the objectives and the entity’s progress in achieving them". According to the recommendations the measurable objectives should be appropriate and meaningful benchmarks that could, for example, include a target percentage. Annually reporting on diversity will, the ASX Council believes, improve transparency as well as effecting social change.   While the ASX governance recommendation does not apply to schools, there is no reason why a school could not model its board practices on the Recommendation.

There are other signs of progress in Australia too. In July 2015, the Tasmanian Government announced that it was setting a target of 50 per cent of women on government boards and committees by 2020. At the time of the announcement, this figure was 34 per cent. In March of the same year, the Victorian Government mandated a 50 per cent quota for women that would apply to all Victorian courts and all paid government board positions. "I'm sick of walking into meetings and seeing a room full of blokes sitting around the table," Premier Andrews said.

School boards that do not have a gender or diversity policy or process in board appointments should carefully consider their position. Government intervention is growing - acting as a means of encouraging movement on discriminatory practices. Yes, it is essential to have the right skills list and skills balance, however, it is also essential for a school board to be a living microcosm of the school’s culture and ethos. If a school is free from discrimination, and open to new learning and cultural diversity, then having a gender balance within the board is a ‘no brainer’.

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About the Author

Craig D’cruz

With 39 years of educational experience, Craig D’cruz is the Principal Consultant and Sector Lead, Education at Ideagen CompliSpace. Craig provides direction on education matters including new products, program/module content and training. Previously Craig held the roles of Industrial Officer at the Association of Independent Schools of WA, he was the Principal of a K-12 non-government school, Deputy Principal of a systemic non-government school and he has had boarding, teaching and leadership experience in both the independent and Catholic school sectors. Craig has also spent ten years on the board of a large non-government school and is a regular presenter on behalf of Ideagen CompliSpace and other educational bodies on issues relating to school governance, school culture and leadership.

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