Top directors will begin contacting the chairmen of 34 large companies with only one female board member after a survey found that a significant portion of ASX 200 still lacks gender balance at board level.

Despite 40 of Australia's 200 blue chip companies found to have either no female directors, or just one, overall, the proportion of women board members exceeded 30 per cent for the first time at the end of January. A study by the Australian Institute of Company Directors found that women accounted for 30.7 per cent of board seats on the ASX 200 on January 31.