Women on Boards in the UK: The stories behind the statistics

Transcription

1 Women on Boards in the UK: The stories behind the statistics Dr. Ruth Sealy Institute for Economic Analysis and Decision Making (InstEAD): Gender and the Boardroom Sheffield 9 th June

2 Glacial Progress of women on boards 1999 women make up 6.9% FTSE 100 board directorships 2009 women make up 12% FTSE 100 board directorships 2

3 Female Attrition Men Women Degrees Employed Managers Directors CEOs 3

4 2,000+ Invisible Women (in 2010) From a talent pipeline of 2,281 women

5 Increasing pressure from EU I have not been an advocate of quotas for women in senior business posts in the past, but given the lack of progress in this area, we might in the future have to consider initiatives at the European level I do not like quotas, but I like what they do EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding 5

6 Lord Davies Review & Report Main Headline: Target of 25% women on boards set for FTSE 100 companies by 2015 (Feb 2011 figure 12.8%) Considered a stretch target as would require 30% new appointments each year to women 6

7 Our own quotas threat Government must reserve the right to introduce more prescriptive alternatives if the recommended business-led approach does not achieve significant change. Lord Mervyn Davies,

8 The Davies Recommendations 8

9 The figures 3 years on FEMALE DIRECTORS ON FTSE 100 BOARDS Female held Directorships Female Executive Directorships Female Non-executive Directorships Women holding FTSE 100 board Directorships (21.6%) 20 (6.9%) 211 (25.5%) 194 (17.3%) 18 (5.8%) 176 (21.6%) 163 (15.0%) 20 (6.6%) 143 (18.3%) 135 (12.5%) 18 (5.5%) 117 (15.6%)

10 Women on FTSE 100 Boards 2014 No. of All Male Boards Date No of Boards with Women March March March March

11 The Pace of Change FTSE 100 NEW BOARD APPOINTMENTS New female appointments New male appointments Total new appointments Female percentage new appointments 34.0% 33.9% 24.7% 13.3% 14.7% 11.0% 11

12 Predicting percentages of WoB

13 Multiple Directorships FTSE 100 Boards Total Directors 1 seat 2 seats 3 seats 4 seats Male Directors % (689) 10.9% (85) 1.1% (9) 0 Female Directors % (183) 8.8% (18) 1.9% (4) 0 From Female FTSE Report

14 The Mysteries of the Appointment Process 14

15 Contradictions for Executive Search Firms 1. Motivation for tackling diversity in the board appointment process: voluntarism triggered by regulatory pressures and commercial considerations 2. Redefining merit and competence: inclusive criteria versus intrinsics - the X factor in the board appointment process 3. Engaging with female candidates: long-term inclusion versus short-term commercial pressures 4. Pleasing clients while challenging their assumptions and practices Reluctant activists? The role of executive search consultants as diversity actors in the board appointment process (Doldor, Sealy & Vinnicombe, in press) 15

16 Female Executive Directors We expect all Chief Executives to review the percentage of women they aim to have on their Executive Committees in 2013 and Davies Report 2011 Year Female Executive Committee Members Female Executive Board Directors (18.1%) 17 (5.2%) (17.2%) 18 (5.5%) (15.3%) 18 (5.8%) (15.6%) 20 (6.9%) From Female FTSE Report

17 Linking Women on Boards and ExCo Top 10 and Bottom 10 Companies for women on ExCo Company On ExCo On Board Admiral 42% 31% Diageo 40% 44% UU Group 39% 25% Land Sec Gp 33% 27% Next 33% 27% Royal Mail 31% 36% Capita 28% 44% Sainsbury 27% 30% WPP 25% 32% Astrazeneca 25% 25% Company On ExCo On Board GlencorXs 0% 0% Fresnillo 0% 8% Schroders 0% 9% Shell 0% 10% Melrose 0% 11% Persimmon 0% 11% Aggreko 0% 17% Tullow Oil 0% 17% Babcock 0% 18% Standard Life 0% 18% 17

18 Individual Level: Importance of Context 18

19 Career Paths to Executive Committee 62% 48% + 29% (Significant Difference x 2 = 6.2 P =.01) Internally promoted Female Internally promoted Male From Female FTSE Report 2013

20 Organisational Level: Talent Management 1. Make diversity an explicit focus of talent management processes 2. Hold senior leaders accountable for supporting women s careers 3. Translate unconscious bias training into practice 4. Nurture female talent through leadership development programmes 5. Make female talent visible through sponsorship, mentoring and exposure to senior leaders 6. Adopt a holistic approach and embed conversations about female talent in on-going business processes From Female FTSE Report