The International Federation of Accountants has named its first-ever board that has a majority of female members.

Five of the eight board members approved this year at IFAC’s annual council meeting are women. As a result, 12 of IFAC’s 23-member board are now women.

Six of the eight board members approved at last week’s meeting in Vancouver, Canada, are new to the board. Those six new board members are: Yeong Kyun Ahn of the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Joan Curry of Chartered Accountants Ireland; Caroline Gardner of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy; Winnie Nyamute of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya; Fiona Wilkinson of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies; and Ismaila Zakari of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Two members have been reappointed for a second term: Tommye Barie of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and Idésio da Silva Coelho Jr. of the Instituto dos Auditores Independentes do Brasil and Conselho Federal de Contabilidade.

Over the past decade, IFAC has committed to improve the gender balance on its board and committees and has done outreach to attract a diverse slate of candidates, with a particular focus on gender diversity,

“On behalf of IFAC, I congratulate and welcome all of our new and returning board members,” said IFAC president Dr. In-Ki Joo in a statement. “Each of these individuals was nominated and approved on the basis of their leadership qualities, business acumen, and passion for the future of our profession. We are particularly pleased that, as a result of our deliberate focus on gender diversity, the majority of these well-qualified board members are women.”

IFAC also approved three accounting organizations that have been IFAC Associates as full IFAC Members: the Albanian Institute of Certified Accountants, the Instituto Salvadoreño de Contadores Públicos, and Certified Practising Accountants of Papua New Guinea. In addition, five accounting organizations have been approved to join IFAC as Associates: Colegio de Contadores Públicos de Pichincha y del Ecuador, Colegio Hondureño de Profesionales Universitarios en Contaduría Pública, Lao Chamber of Professional Accountants and Auditors, Ordem dos Contabilistas e Auditores de Moçambique, Suriname Chartered Accountants Institute. The approvals provide representation in four new countries: Ecuador, Laos, Mozambique and Suriname.