新西兰英语 673 The 25 Percent Group

 　　This is a group of men and women who want to see more women on the boards of private companies. They want at least 25% female board members by 2015.

　　In 2010, only 9.3% of board members were women. Of the top 100 companies listed on the stock exchange, only three have a woman chief executive¹ or managing director. However, the percentage of women on state-sector boards was 41% in 2010.

　　Recently, the NZX (stock exchange) made a rule that companies must list the numbers of women on their boards and in executive positions and compare this with the previous year. Women represent half the population and probably more than half the customers so they should be on boards. One international report said that boards with women on them have better average growth. One female executive said that it was more enjoyable having women on a board. One male executive said that women are not so aggressive and can focus more clearly on the business.

　　Two years ago the Australians made this same rule about listing numbers of women on their boards. The numbers of women have increased from 5% in 2009 to 33% this year.

　　However, women need to have the skills to become board members. The NZX believes that education can help. Although some countries have set a quota² – Norway for example has a quota of 40% women on boards – the 25 percent group thinks that mentoring⁴ is a better idea.

　　While encouraging more gender⁵ diversity, members of the 25 percent group say this is just the start. Boards need more diversity in age, culture and experience. They need to represent the whole society.

　　Vocabulary

　　?state-sector – government organisations

　　?mentoring – a mentor³ is a friend or teacher who can give advice

　　?gender – male or female

　　?diversity – difference, not all the same

　　Questions

　　?Why are there so few women on our boards and in executive positions?

　　?Should boards of companies be more diverse?

　　?Is a quota a good idea?

1 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

2 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

3 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

4 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。