Gender diverse boards outperforming

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Recent data has shown those superannuation boards led by a mixture of female and male board members are outperforming male-only boards by an average of 0.6 per cent per annum over three years and 0.6 per cent over five years.

There are an average of four women out of 10 trustees overseeing MySuper products, but the ratio of funds with women as chair or chief executive was about two out of 10. Even fewer funds have a female chief investment officer.

Gender diversity in Australian funds management is slow but is improving gradually. Strong performance only increases the need for more women on boards and in leadership positions.

The non-profit sector are leading the way for balance in leadership teams within superannuation, with the following funds having the most women in leadership positions:

  • CareSuper

  • Club Plus

  • Energy Super

  • First State Super

  • First Super

  • HESTA

  • NGS Super

  • REI Super

  • Sunsuper

  • Telstra Super

  • VicSuper

  • Vision Super

Rainmaker performed the research, categorising single strategy MySuper products as per the gender combination on the trustee board, and if women were in the chair, CEO or deputy position.

There was no relationship discovered between MySuper product performance over three years and the gender mix of the trustee board, however, performance increases were seen for those products offered via funds with a woman as chair or CEO: 0.9 per cent per annum over three years.

When the question is asked, is there a performance benefit for gender diverse superannuation funds, the answer was a resounding ‘yes’.