Superannuation funds are threatening to vote against the election of male directors on 97 ASX 300 companies, including Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Caresales.com, Reece, Wisetech and Goodman Group, because they do not meet ramped-up expectations that 30 per cent of their boards are women.

After a decade-long campaign to improve gender diversity on the ASX, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) said gender equality “laggards” needed “a wake-up call” and introduced a formal voting policy aimed at getting boards to 30 per cent women.