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Getting
Women on Board
The
Business Case for Diversity
Organisations
not recruiting women onto their boards are reducing their ability
to compete in the dynamic economy and society in which we live
and work. What’s more, they are limiting their ability
to improve corporate governance. Despite this
knowledge we still fail to create opportunities for women at
board level.
This
guide outlines why it makes sound business sense to appoint
women to your board; it identifies some of the barriers, perceived
and actual, that women and organisations seeking to attract
women face and offers guidance on ways to
overcome those barriers.
"...there
is now a groundswell of opinion and meaningful action by our
businesses, showing that they recognise the links between good
corporate governance and progressive recruitment policies. More
than 20 FTSE 100 Chairmen or CEOs are now mentoring women to
get to board level."
Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and
Cabinet Minister for Women
The
situation as it stands Despite representing over 50% of the
workforce, achieving higher levels academically and controlling
80% of consumer decisions in the UK, only 9.7% of UK boards
have female representation. Within the FTSE 100, 21 companies
have no women at all on their boards. Our research suggests
that some of the barriers women face will take time to erode;
it also suggests that some basic good practice,
preparation and analysis could have an immediate impact on success
rates. This is what Veredus intends to show in the following
pages.
Among
the top 350 firms, women make up only 3% of executive directors
and 8% of non-executives.
Source, Deloitte
Why
it makes commercial sense to appoint more women to the board
"Having
more women and people from diverse backgrounds means that companies
represent – and better understand – the customers
they want to attract, leading to improved competitiveness and
productivity. They also bring different skills and opinions
to the board."
Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and
Minister for Women
All
contributors to this article agreed that recruiting more women
at board level was a key strategic driver for their organisation.
Why was this?
Did
they want to:
- More
accurately represent the population they served?
- Engage
more with the people within the business?
- Avoid
a one-dimensional leadership that would restrict growth
and innovation?
- Alter
the dynamics in the boardroom?
- Ensure
they didn’t miss out on talent?
- Limit
the risk to their reputation and, potentially, their bottom
line as a result of recycling a limited pool of candidates?
- Fish
for talent outside a shrinking talent pool?
The
answer was all of these and more.
The
business case for recruiting more women to boards goes beyond
representation and making up the numbers. It centres around
contribution, legitimising doing things differently and allowing
those differences to flourish in the boardroom. It’s not
about a ‘nice-to-have’: it’s about productivity,
innovation and leadership.
Veredus
doesn’t advocate recruiting ‘men in frocks’ or
attracting women into an environment where they must conform
to a norm in order to survive.
Instead, we’d urge you to consider the future needs of
your organisation and be clear on what you want from these appointments.
“Engaging
women on our Board and in our leadership team isn’t something
that we do simply to show that we’re socially responsible
or just to be current with the latest people themes. For us,
it is about engaging our talent and capability, it’s about
creating the right culture for that talent to flourish and it’s
about creating an exceptional organisation that serves our customers
well.”
Martin Beaumont, Chief Executive Co-operative Group
There
was a clear indication that women on the board present role
models that attract other women to join. This accelerates the
pace of change by enhancing the pool of female talent further
down the organisation.
"Overall
companies with women directors scored significantly higher (on
corporate governance indicators) than companies with all male
boards...There is clear evidence that better managed companies
are those with gender diversity in their boardrooms."
The Female FTSE Report 2004
Eliminating
the Barriers...
Veredus
recommends nine key ways to encourage women on to your board
and
boost the success of your business.
1.
Examine the wider issues - Read>>
2.
Analyse the appointment - Read>>
3.
Review your candidate sourcing strategy - Read>>
4.
Evaluate your attraction strategy - Read>>
5.
Investigate the way you select and work with your search partner
- Read>>
6.
Review how you assess candidates - Read>>
7.
Question the way you appoint - Read>>
8.
Consider your induction process and support networks - Read>>
9.
Explore the next steps - Read>>
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