Two of the country's leading non-executive directors have hosed down fears that a "girl's club" is dominating the country's top boardrooms, arguing the concentration of a small number of women in top 100 directorships is part of a generational and gender shift that is occurring.  
Kevin McCann, chairman of Macquarie Group, and Diane Smith-Gander, who chairs Transfield Services, sits on the Wesfarmers board and is also president of Chief Executive Women, were responding to  research from the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors released this week, which found that nearly 40 per cent of the 89 directors appointed to ASX100 boards last year were women, but half of the new appointments already sit on another top 100 board, with 105 individuals accounting for one third of all top 100 board seats.
"I know all of the women on the list. And every single one of them brings the right set of skills," said Ms Smith Gander, speaking at a lunch hosted by the Governance Institute of Australia in Sydney on Friday.
But she said without proper vigilance around recruiting women for roles, there was a risk that the same women would continue to be put forward for positions.
No club
"I hope we are not creating a golden skirts club," said Ms Smith-Gander, using a term coined about Norway which in 2003 mandated that 40 per cent of all non-executive board positions must be held by women.
"I hope this is a point in time."
Mr McCann, who chairs Macquarie Group, argued there is a natural cap on the roles one director could take.
"If you have three to four directorships, you can't take any more," he said, noting the role could be demanding and chairmanships required even more time from non-executive directors. 
He agreed it was important to search widely for new directors, noting that in his experience, women who had come to boards with a relatively low profile could sometimes be more successful than those with a higher profile.
But he stressed there was no "club" mentality being used to make appointments.
"There's no elite club. The people being appointed are talented," Mr McCann said.
In the broad-ranging panel discussion, which also include Origin Energy company secretary Helen Hardy, topics covered included more flexible working arrangements, childcare, "conscious decision making" and "courageous conversations".