Women on Boards

In Australia, WOB is a recognised leader in the ecosystem of organisations and networks breaking down the barriers women face to achieving leadership and board roles. The organisation has a track record of success and is known for its strategic, practical programmes and its transparent approach.

As a strong advocate for women, WOB works across organisations and sectors, and with government, on a meaningful and strategic policy and cultural change agenda that supports women.

Since inception, WOB’s vision has been to increase the number of women on boards and in leadership roles to achieve a gender balance of 40:40:20 – 40 per cent women, 40 per cent men and 20 per cent of either/or other genders. The group welcomes the fact that many other advocacy groups have since adopted its founding vision.

In 2020 the Women on Boards Diversity Committee was established to address barriers to opportunity and access to leadership and board and committee roles for culturally diverse and Indigenous women in Australia. The committee’s longterm ambition is to see greater representation of Australia’s culturally diverse population and Indigenous people on boards.

The idea to create a WOB movement gained traction after the success of female athletes in the 2000 Olympic Games. It was originally auspiced by the National Foundation for Australian Women, before being officially founded by Claire Braund and Ruth Medd in 2006. WOB launched in the UK in 2012.

WOB is inclusive and welcoming, supporting all women on their board and leadership journey, and celebrating their success. Membership is therefore open to all. It is free to register as a basic member, with a fee to join as a full member. Advantages of membership include: Advantages of membership include:

• Access to full details of all board and committee positions on the vacancy board.
• Support when applying for board roles.
• Access to WOBShare, a member-only online community.
• Up to 30 per cent discount on WOB events and workshops.
• Access to free member-only events, such as WOBChat.
• Information and resources to assist and motivate members.

WOB has the following corporate members in 2022:
• BDO Australia
• Clayton Utz
• Computershare
• CPA Australia
• GrainCorp
• Grant Thornton
• Holding Redlich
• McGrathNicol

WOB delivers workshop and events that support women on their board and leadership journeys. Delivery is a mix of virtual workshops and face-to-face or on-demand self-paced online learning.

WOB offers a personal career management programme, full-service mentoring and a special director-led peer-to-peer support programme to accelerate women into ASX board roles.

• Ruth Medd, executive chair
• Claire Braund, executive director
• Mary Sue Rogers, nonexecutive director
• Nicole Donegan, nonexecutive director

Claire Braund and Ruth Medd, Women on Boards.