Seventy women from a pool of more than 1600 applicants have been decreed “board ready” and awarded scholarships to attend Australian Institute of Company Director courses to improve their chances of getting on boards.
It’s hoped the scholarships can help to address the gender inbalance of boards, with EOWA recently finding just 9.2% of ASX 500 board positions held by women
The scholarships jointly funded by the AICD and Federal government will see those selected attend either the Company Directors Course or Mastering the Boardroom programs, and receive a 12 month Company Directors membership.
The women cross a range of experience and qualifications, including banking, accounting, finance, as well as less “traditional” board experiences like small business, marketing communications, science and human resources.
AICD chief John Colvin said women who could demonstrate their experience, leadership potential and capacity were chosen.
“Successful applicants were able to demonstrate their significant experience and a high degree of leadership potential and capacity,” he said in a statement.
Click here to see the list of scholarship recipients.