Wesfarmers aim for 50% women on its board

Wesfarmers Ltd has laid down the gauntlet to other major companies wanting greater
female participation in the boardroom, with an audacious plan to ensure that half
its directors will be women.
Wesfarmers chairman Bob Every said women comprise 50 per cent of the population and
should have commensurate representation on company boards.
This was something the retail and resources giant was striving for, he said.
Dr Every was responding to a question from the floor at the company's annual general
meeting in Perth on Tuesday, after shareholders voted to elect a second woman to the
11-member Wesfarmers' board.
Voting results were not known at by 1820 AEDT.
Dr Every was non-committal when asked by the Australian Shareholder's Association
whether Wesfarmers would extend the vesting term for director's long-term incentives
from three years to four years.
"I won't make an undertaking, but will considerate it," he said.
Shareholder reaction to Wesfarmers' remuneration report has greatly improved since
2008 when a substantial protest vote was lodged.
The company has since taken action to address concerns including freezing the base
salaries for managing director Richard Goyder and other senior executives for
2009/10.
Dr Every said the company would continue to monitor and review the salary packages
of its executive team.
He also said the company was in a strong financial position and had no current
intention to raise funds.
Supermarket chain Coles was faring well in the second half of its five-year
turnaround program, adding 1.5 million customer visits per week, Dr Every said.
Mr Goyder said Wesfarmers planned to open a new Coles store adjacent to Perth's
central business district in the next 12 months.
A shareholder had asked why Coles had not matched its rival Woolworths, which has
two supermarkets in Perth's CBD.