Double women on boards, or else…

Lord Davies report states that businesses must double the number of women on boards by 2013 or face government measures.

Lord Davies delivered his report this morning and urged FTSE350 companies to boost the number of women at the board table to 20 percent by 2013 and 25 percent by 2015. But as expected he stopped short of quotas, unless the voluntary measures fail. Additionally, the report  called on chairmen to announce in the next six months their goals “to ensure that more talented and gifted women” get top jobs.

Carmen Watson, one of the UK’s most successful female business leaders as Managing Director of Pertemps Recruitment Partnership, a £280m turn over business and one of the UK’S largest independent recruitment agencies said, “Drawing on my years of experience as a senior director of the UK’s largest independent recruitment company, I do not feel that boardroom quotas are the solution. Quotas are not inherently good because both men and women on boards both need to feel that the women have earned their way to the top. It is counterproductive if women are put on boards just to fill quotas, as the impact they will have on major company decisions to help shape and form company policy, will be diminished. That said, businesses should be held accountable for setting targets which are achievable and realistic for the marketplace in which they are operating. They then need to create frameworks and infrastructures which will help nurture and develop top female talent.

Although women make up half of the population and more than half of university graduates, they remain woefully under-represented at board level.  What is needed is cultural change, which fosters the leadership development of women in middle management, not quotas, ratios or tokenism.  Flexibility allows firms to set targets that reflect the realities of their market place, and is more effective.

The real solution lies within companies, shareholders, the government and the recruitment profession working together to deliver the changes that will help women to achieve these board-level positions.  Businesses which have diverse boardrooms are more empowered to serve diverse markets across a wide variety of sectors.  Boardroom diversity is no longer an option but a critical part of the growth strategy of many businesses in order to remain competitive both in the UK and abroad.