The stock exchange regulator will include a requirement for listed companies to disclose their gender diversity as part of the annual reports starting on December 31, subject to Financial Markets Authority approval.
Members will be required to disclose the gender composition of their boards and senior management teams, provide information on their diversity policies and evaluate their performance in respect of the policy.
The ruling follows a two-month consultation process.
Mrs Munro told the Otago Daily Times it was the right time to implement the requirement as what had been tried in the past had not been working.
One of the criticisms she had heard was: Where were those women to appoint to boards?
There were many women taking director courses through the Institute of Directors or Government-sponsored training.
"This will be positive in lots of ways. When many of my women clients read an annual report and see the lack of women on the board or in management, they decide not to invest or take up a new offer. They are not keen when there is a lack of women.
"Women add diversity to a board. We think differently, we come to conclusions from different directions, we work intuitively and we learn quickly."
It tended to be too easy for boards to "take the blokes they know" when a board appointment came up, Mrs Munro said.
Asked if she had ever felt sidelined because of her gender on any of the boards she had served on, Mrs Munro said in the early days there had been some instances where fellow board members had asked "what do the ladies think?
""It depends on the chairman's attitude. I just take people aside and remind them I am also a director. You don't make a fuss in public, but do tell them that men watch Coronation Street too," she said.
NZX chief executive Tim Bennett said in a statement that in response to feedback, companies would create their own diversity policies and did not have to provide a quantitative breakdown of the gender composition of boards of subsidiaries.
"It's important that we give listed companies the flexibility to make their own decisions about whether a formal diversity policy is a priority for them at this stage.
"Over time, we'd like to see more listed companies taking the opportunity to report on diversity as a contributor to investing decisions made by shareholders."
At present, women hold about 9.3% of private-sector directorships in New Zealand.
The majority of NZX 100 companies had no female directors, while women accounted for 21% of management positions reporting directly to chief executives.
The NZX would work with the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the 25 Percent Group, launched in June to implement the policy. The 25 Percent Group aimed to see 15% female participation on boards by 2015.
"Together, initiatives such as these will lead to more opportunities for women on boards and to improved corporate performance," Kim Ngarimu, acting chief executive at the Ministry of Women's Affairs, said.
"They will also unleash future opportunities for women in a wider range of senior leadership roles."
The 25 Percent Group and the ministry have started a website to provide access to research and practical advice on how to improve diversity in the boardroom.
In May, the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and Bank of New Zealand also launched the Women in Financial Services Forum after research showed that females across New Zealand and Australia perceived their career advancement as a low priority in the organisations they worked for.
The NZX would publish final guidance later this year and plans to monitor disclosures made by companies with the view to build up approaches to diversity over time.
- Additional reporting BusinessDesk
