EU launches debate on quotas for women in boardrooms

The latest report from the Cranfield International Centre for Women Leaders shows that in the first six months since the last report (March 2012), the pace of change was extremely encouraging with 44% of new FTSE 100 board appointments going to women and 36% on FTSE 250 companies. However, those high levels were short-lived and over the past six months they have dropped to 26% and 29% respectively, showing a considerable gap from the 33% required to reach Lord Davies’ recommendation of 25% women on boards by 2015.

Women have long been underrepresented in the higher echelons of management and in the boardroom; organisations with women in top positions see the business benefits of increasing the number of women on boards. The Financial Skills Partnership (FSP) introduced a training programme aimed at developing leadership skills among women managers.

Although the issue of gender diversity on corporate boards and in leadership positions in Canada has garnered plenty of attention in recent years, very little has changed in part because of the attitudes of both men and women, concludes a report by the Conference Board of Canada.

European commissioners are thinking of demanding quotas for the number of women on company boards. This raises some issues.