5 September 2012
So the government has been re-shuffled and the net result, contrary to election promises, is fewer women in the top posts. This seemed somewhat ironic in the week that the headlines report the EU draft proposal for a 40% quota for women on boards.
This proposal is expected to be formally introduced next month by Viviane Reding, the EU’s justice commissioner. It would require companies larger than 250 employees or with turnover of more than 50 million Euros to report annually on the gender make-up of their boards. Those that miss the mandatory quota would be subject to administrative fines or be barred from state aid and contracts.
Ms Reding has not taken this step lightly - voluntary schemes have been in place for some ten years, but progress has been incredibly slow. EU data shows that in January, women represented only 13.7 per cent of board positions in large listed companies. The draft directive quotes “an average annual increase of just 0.6 percentage points over the past years”.
Although several EU countries – including France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands – have already adopted their own national quotas, it was Norway that led the way. Interestingly, the anticipated backlash there did not materialise. It soon became apparent that the women appointed were highly qualified and eminently capable of fulfilling their board roles. No-one could quite understand why they had previously been overlooked.
I confess to this being an issue close to my own heart as a woman who has fought her way up the corporate ladder in a highly male dominated environment. However, it is too simplistic to consider this a purely misogynistic issue. Inviting women into the boardroom inevitably disrupts the well worn terms of engagement established over centuries of male camaraderie, but there are various stakeholders in the recruitment process, all of whom have a part to play in re-dressing the balance. Search executives can ensure that a balanced slate of candidates is put forward for interview. Appointments committees can move away from the old boy network for selection. But equally, women themselves can start to plan their careers more strategically, hone their skills, network their contacts and promote themselves with more confidence.
Norway’s experience has demonstrated that the real effect of quotas was to short-cut some of these obstacles in order that the full benefit of a gender-balanced board could be recognised and appreciated. It is therefore disappointing to learn from the FT’s report earlier this week that an official in the UK’s business department said: “Our position will still stand – we are opposed to legislation for quotas.” However, given the government’s approach to its own cabinet, this is sadly perhaps not surprising.
Vanessa Williams
