James Hayden reports on efforts to add boardroom equality to the agenda
In last year’s coalition government agreement, the UK government pledged to “look to promote gender equality on the boards of listed companies”. As at 2010, only 12.5% of FTSE 100 company directors and 7.8% of FTSE 250 company directors were women. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) therefore commissioned Lord Davies of Abersoch to lead a review of the current situation and issue recommendations as to what government and business could do to increase the number of women on corporate boards.
The Davies Report
The Davies Report, published in February 2011, provided a detailed analysis of the failure of women to reach the highest levels of the UK corporate community, concluding that “the informal networks influential in board appointments, the lack of transparency around selection criteria and the way in which executive search firms operate, were together considered to make up a significant barrier to women reaching boards”. The report also emphasised that the issues “are as much about improving business performance as about promoting equal opportunities for women”, describing
