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Some of Australia’s top boards still view women directors as symbolic appointments to polish their company’s image or as a risk, reports the Australian Financial Review (AFR). The results of a recent survey by Egon Zehnder International also reveal a widespread belief that women directors contribute less value than their male counterparts. A lack of appropriate government policy and action to support and retain women in the workforce is partly to blame for the shortage of women at board level, explains Chris Thomas, a consultant at Egon Zehnder International, Melbourne. Although he disagrees with quotas, Thomas emphasises the need for a long-term attitude change towards female board members and the importance of companies facilitating the development of the careers of senior women executives. A recent report by the Australian Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency highlights the subjectivity of the recruitment process at most companies. Women are often disadvantaged by such subjectivity and firms need to rethink their hiring process, warns the AFR.