The head of Hydro Tasmania says government businesses are taking the lead in promoting gender diversity.

Hydro Tasmania director Samantha Hogg is one of two female members on the six-person board of the state government enterprise.

It means the company has hit the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ 30 per cent gender diversity target.

Ms Hogg says government boards are becoming much more progressive.

“I think that [greater diversity] leads to a more thorough conversation on any issue and ideally a more balanced decision making process,” she said.

“[The state government] has promoted the fact that women should be on boards and have been very strong in that.”

The Australian Institute of Company Directors says 126 of the largest 200 public Australian companies have not met the 30 per cent gender diversity target. 

There are five companies in the group with without any female board representation. 

“I think the major issue has been that it’s generally been men appointing men to come on to senior management roles or boards, so you often will have an unconscious bias,” Ms Hogg said. 

The Victorian government has had a rigid 50 per cent gender equality quota since 2015.

Ms Hogg says such quotas are not necessarily the answer.

“I think it really depends – if traction isn’t made without a quotas system, then I think there has to be encouragement and that may have to come in the form of quotas,” she said.

“I hope it doesn't come to that, but I think in some cases it does and once you build up the numbers it becomes self-fulfilling.

“There’s only a time you’d need to have quotas before it becomes a part of the natural way board appointments are happening.”