Top publicly listed companies that employ more women on their boards make more money, a new study shows, boosting the case for regulations that require big business to set policies to increase gender diversity.

The La Trobe Business School study... examined about 300 of Australia's top 500 listed companies between 2005 and 2011.

...[I]ts findings...represent further evidence of the positive impact increased board diversity is having on Australian companies' financial performance...

Workplace Gender Equality Agency data shows women accounted for 43 per cent of new appointments to ASX 200 boards in January 2016.

But the balance is still far from equal, because 12 per cent of the ASX 200 still do not have a woman on their board...
Since 2011, Australia's top companies have been benchmarking their practices against the ASX recommendations, and if they don't they have to disclose their reasons. The study found that this in itself had led to more women moving on to boards...