06 Aug CULTURAL DIVERSITY – THERE IS SOME WORK TO BE DONE; MANAGEMENT GOBBLEDYGOOK
Welcome to this week’s business and media intelligence update.
CULTURAL DIVERSITY – THERE IS SOME WORK TO BE DONE BY AUSTRALIAN LISTED COMPANIES
Australia’s top publicly listed companies are heading towards gender parity in the boardroom – but not quite yet.
A new report by the Governance Institute of Australia has found that by 2030, women will account for half of all directorships among the top 300 companies listed on the ASX. So, signs of improvement at last.
When it comes to cultural diversity, however, the story is less optimistic – based on current trends, the Governance Institute believes it will take 18 years for ASX 300 boards to reflect Australia’s cultural diversity.
The report found that 90 per cent of directors in the ASX 300 come from an Anglo-Celtic background. It suggests that boards that have more diversity in terms of culture, gender, skills, and age tend to make better decisions than less diverse boards.
Importantly, consumers and shareholders are increasingly choosing to spend and invest their money in more diverse organisations, placing pressure on corporations to be more reflective of the broader society.
Read the full report here.
MANAGEMENT GOBBLEDYGOOK, AND WHY THERE IS SO MUCH OF IT
It’s a well known but little studied phenomenon: as managers start to climb the greasy pole of corporate success, they seem to lose the ability to write and speak clearly.
According to The Economist, instead of letting the market know when profits are up (or down, but that’s another story), CEOs are conditioned to use jargon to fill in the bits, and in the process, sound more intelligent. And once corporate jargon is entrenched, it is almost impossible to avoid it.
Read all about it here.
While on the subject, Fast Company reported on an analysis undertaken by Canva of 6.3 million job ads in the US and found the most used jargon, cliches and other non-sensical terms to describe the positions on offer.
From “take it to the next level” and “blue sky thinking” to “peel the onion” (yes, it’s popular).
The problem? According to the analysis, some candidates do not apply because they simply don’t understand the language.
Read more here.
ESG: THE RULES FOR DISCLOSURE
Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increasing focus from investors on ESG issues, and there’s no sign of it slowing down.
A seminar on the topic held last week by the Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) heard from superfunds, proxy advisers and investor relations teams on recent trends – and what investors are looking for when it comes to ESG.
Read our summary of the seminar here, which includes our top four tips for companies preparing their ESG disclosures.
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