This year has seen a positive start to my review, tackling the issue of why British companies have so few women appointed to the company board. When I was first tasked by the government to take on this role, I was inundated with offers of support from businesses and individuals looking to take part and help me with this work. This support has been very welcome and has been reflected more widely by the momentum that this topic has built following the launch.
Businesses, media, the Department for Business, the Government Equalities Office and the prime minister have really got behind the issue. This impetus must not be allowed to wither as we move into 2011, we need more than just words of support from executives and real progress to be seen when Cranfield University publish their Female FTSE 100 over the coming years.
I am pleased to see that the debate has caught people's imagination. While much of the media focus has been on the dilemma of whether quotas would help or hinder women's progress, this issue is a lot wider than this one question. Over the past few months I have met with many executives and interest groups, and I have had evidence from more than 2,600 businesses and individuals – many of which included some excellent suggestions.
The question of quotas is one that I will be considering carefully before making my recommendations this February. Quotas have proved successful in some countries, but many of the women I have spoken with are against these. I have not ruled them out as a recommendation, but at the moment I am not convinced that they are the right method to encourage progress. Female executives need to be recognised for the talent and skills that they possess. I know there is a multitude of women ready for board appointments, but from the conversations I have had it seems the root of the problem may be accessing this pool of talent.
There is no hard evidence of a lack of female talent – although I have heard some old-fashioned chairmen suggest this. One of the things that I have focused my meetings on over the past few months has been how to bring more women into the recruitment process, and broaden the selection process. Many ideas have been discussed on how best to facilitate this. One possibility is to create a best practice code for head-hunters tasked with board level and other senior appointments; they also debated how to increase the transparency of board appointments made via a nomination committee.
The steering group for my review has also talked about how to generate a greater supply of women to take part in the board recruitment process. We have recently discussed establishing a group of about 35-40 board executives to play a counselling role for new and potential female board appointees; and I have also thought about the merits of setting up an academy for female executives. Tasked with identifying successful business women, the academy would train potential female candidates and match them with a current company chair to mentor them.
As I said, the problem of increasing the role of women in the corporate world is greater than just the issue of quotas, and another area that needs far more debate is the supply versus demand argument. There needs to be more pressure on companies to open up their recruitment process and to bring women up the ranks from within the business. Companies could be required to provide board internships to give senior staff the experience of what it means to be on a board.
Many excellent ideas have come out of my meetings, but this year we have also seen business groups take the initiative. The 30% Club, which was launched in November, is a group of UK-based chairmen pledging to an aspiration of achieving a board with women making up at least 30% by 2015. The CBI has also publicised a number of ideas, including the requirement for all listed UK companies to report on their progress in improving diversity to encourage an increase in the number of women on boards.
It is admirable that so many companies have rallied behind this cause and I am pleased to be ending this year on a high note, with so much discussion and debate being driven not only by my review but by businesses themselves. However, it would be a shame for so much talk not to lead to positive action. As we move into the new year, I hope that we will see such action being led by the corporate industry, and that the results of my review will not be the end of this debate but only the beginning.