The House of Lords EU Sub-Committee is to take evidence from business professionals today (Monday 9 July) as part of its inquiry into EU action to increase the number of women on company boards.
The Committee will ask business professionals, including Neil Carberry, Director for Employment and Skills at the CBI, Kate Grussing, Founder and Managing Director of Sapphire Partners, and Simon Walker, Director General of the Institute of Directors, whether there is there a business case for increasing gender diversity on company boards and why current representation of women on boards is so low.
Questions will also cover areas such as the support or preparation that women need for board appointments and the likelihood of the UK reaching the 40% target set by the European Commission without quotas.
Representatives from executive search firms will then be asked if quotas for gender diversity on boards would make it more difficult to find the right candidates for a job, or result in less effective candidates being chosen. The Committee will also ask if the fact that some countries are signed up to quotas of women on boards affect recruitment patterns across Europe and what impact their voluntary code has had on practice in the industry.
The evidence sessions will start at 4.05pm on Monday 9 July in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords and can be watched live at www.parliamentlive.tv.
As much as this is very laudable, I hope that there are some experts in this area. It’s complex and there are many issues as to the fallout of women at board level, which goes right the way through a woman’s career. It’s not really just about women, but about having a model of leadership which is relevant for today’s organisations, what we want organisations to achieve, and what kind of people should be influencing organisations. One problem is women are not valued, and there is still much emotion when we talk about ‘feminism’, as well as yawns when we mention ‘diversity’. I note on the left side of this article the title ‘How can HR departments promote gender equality in the boardroom?’. Unless HR departments have any power, then they won’t. If they side with management (who may not understand the issues involved), they won’t be able to promote gender equality either. Many think that there aren’t any issues. We have to understand that as humans, ‘bias’ will influence people’s perceptions and decisions which is one reason why there are few women at the top. But that is only part of the story. So asking people who don’t understand the issues is a mistake. I include here executive search firms, who, let’s face it, are sales people. A great skill, and a skill we all should possess, but not for resolving issues as important as this.