If companies don't start appointing more women to their boards, future governments may be pressured to introduce quotas, says the Governance Institute of Australia.
Governance Institute president Trisha Mok says Australia's top 200 listed companies continue to underperform when it comes to appointing more female directors voluntarily.
Ms Mok says many European countries - Norway, Belgium, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and France - are imposing quotas to prescribe the proportion of women on boards.
The UK government also has raised the prospect of quotas.
"While quotas might not be on the current government's agenda, that does not mean it won't be a priority for future governments," Ms Mok said at an International Women's Day lunch in Sydney on Tuesday.
"Investors are already pushing boards on targets, and will push for quotas if there is inaction."
Ms Mok pointed to a July 2014 report from funds manager Blackrock that showed that just 21 per cent of non-executive director roles on ASX200 boards were filled by women, and that the standard of gender diversity disclosures by companies was `perfunctory'.
She said this clearly showed that gender diversity was not in Australia's corporate DNA.
The Governance Institute is an independent professional association that provides education and support for chartered secretaries, governance advisers and risk managers to drive responsible performance in their organisations.
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