New Zealand Rugby penalised for failing to achieve board gender diversity target

New Zealand Rugby has been penalised for not reaching gender diversity targets on its board, losing $280,000 in Sport New Zealand funding.

The only one out of 65 major New Zealand sporting organisations to not reach a government mandated 40% women on boards quota by December 2021, the Sport NZ funding will be returned to NZ Rugby if the quota is met. However, financial penalties will, according to Sport NZ, increase to nearly $600,000 in lost funding if the body continues to be non-compliant next year.

As reported by New Zealand news website Stuff, NZ Rugby currently has three women on its nine-person board: Deputy Chair, former Black Fern and academic Dr Farah Palmer, former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and former Otago Rugby board Chair Rowena Davenport - with the latter two appointed this year.

For NZ Rugby to reach the 40% quota, another woman is required.

Sport NZ invests $2.8 million into the sport every year for community rugby initiatives – including initiatives for women and young people – and for high performance, targeting the Black Ferns and All Blacks Sevens.

NZ Rugby board Chair Stewart Mitchell said those areas won’t be impacted by the loss of Sport NZ funding, stating “the NZ Rugby board acknowledges that we have not met Sport NZ’s requirement for 40% representation of women on the board by December 2021, and the subsequent financial penalty for non-compliance. While this funding is valuable to NZ Rugby, it will not impact our current work streams in the professional or community game.”

Mitchell said the board had “50% overall diversity” and pathways were being developed to ensure more diverse rugby boards in the future.

Advising that Emerging Director Pauline Luyten was also brought on this year, Mitchell added “rugby benefits when there is a range of demographics, skills, backgrounds and personal characteristics on boards. Moving forward it is critical that we maintain a long-term focus to ensure sustainable and meaningful change

Sport NZ Chief Executive Raelene Castle said that while NZ Rugby had made progress, Sport NZ “has always indicated that there will be implications” for non-compliance.

“We have had conversations with NZ Rugby who did not meet the target by the due date. While they have made good progress towards compliance, with three out of nine board members now female, they have advised the likely earliest date they will be compliant with the 40% target, will be at the annual meeting in April 2023.”

Castle said she was “proud of the progress” being made regarding gender equity on boards across all sport.