ESG is becoming a key focus for shareholders and we are all having to adjust to the learning curve.
To learn more about how your organisation can sign up as an “Accelerator for the UN Initiative Race to Zero”, go to their website. This site gives access to free toolkits that will be invaluable to inform your team and Board.
When we look back at the ‘good the bad and the ugly’ of the Covid Crisis, there will be many lessons to be learnt and best practices reviewed to prepare for any future global pandemic.
Some will be very practical lessons such as the need for quick reactions on key activities like trace and isolation, social distancing and using protective masks.
Some will be structural, such as responding to early warning systems as in New Zealand, or quickly deployable and scalable testing and tracing as in Germany, or rapidly deployable ‘critical care’ hospital capacity as in the UK.
There is much debate and discussion about the impact of the Covid crisis on Diversity and Inclusion. There are concerns in relation to how this will set back progress, and that employers will be focused on fighting the fires of survival and thus be inclined to put ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ on the backburner for when they emerge into better times.
The world is focused on the tragedy of the Covid epidemic and the horror stories of death, financial hardship and vulnerability within communities and ethnic groups. As companies battle to survive by rapidly changing their operational management processes, and responding fairly and ethically to the challenges, there are few businesses untouched by this crisis.
The Covid crisis has stimulated rapid and innovative thinking, precipitating new developments in many spheres, from drones providing indoor disinfection to homemade face masks. But one of the most dramatic developments in the business world has been the overnight global implementation and leadership of remote working. What was thought to be impossible, has been done. What was thought to hamper effective communication has proved false. What was thought to be a generation gap in use of interactive communication has been blown away. The mass numbers of people working remotely has broken the logjam of many taboos, traditional thinking and general technology inertia.
As we enter a new decade it is an opportune time to reflect on the progress of diversity on Boards and the challenges that lie ahead.
This past decade has been one where female participation in the business world has exploded into the headlines and onto our Boardrooms.
In the UK we started the decade with the Davis Report in 2011 which sort to drive a voluntary target of 25% of women on Boards’ of FTSE 100 companies by 2015. The target was successfully achieved and then superseded by a 33% target by 2020, which is also likely to be achieved. This model of targeted voluntary compliance has proved successful but there is still much to do in creating further diversity in the executive pipeline. Targeted compliance has provided a catalyst for increasing gender participation on the executive committee and subsequently feeding onto Boards. While less explosive and headline grabbing, this approach has largely avoided the accusation of under qualification and under experienced women on Boards, often thrown at the quota approach.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is seeking a third Independent non-executive to join our Board. They are looking for an individual who is committed to their purpose and who understands the importance of what they do. CCRC want all of their Independent non-executives to complement the skills and knowledge of the Board. In particular, they welcome applications from experienced non-executives who would have the necessary skills and experience to take on the role of Senior Independent Director. This may include senior experience of the workings of government or of the private sector.
Diversity on boards is essential for success. Countless capable women candidates are being overlooked for the top role and it is time to change this.
This summer, Helen Pitcher OBE and some like-minded people started an initiative called "Accelerating Women Chairman in FTSE Board". The goal was to help headhunters, chairman and nominating committees to recognise the enormous pool of talented women who are ready to take on chairman roles.
New reporting requirements have been introduced around monitoring culture more closely. JENNY ROPER asks if this will improve corporate governance or be just another box to tick
“Rob is the miserable one of the partnership,” jokes visiting professor and executive in residence at IE Business School Gareth Jones, referring to his book – and article-writing partner Emeritus professor of organisational behaviour at London Business School Rob Goffee (who, poor man, is not on the phone call to defend himself).
But despite Jones’ opening quip it is he who is foretelling doom. “Here’s a miserable prediction: in light of the new corporate governance reporting guidelines boards will be saying to their HR departments ‘WE NEED SOME MEASURES!’” the former BBC director of HR and internal communications says, shouting this last part down the phone so loudly that those nearby in HR magazine’s office look round in surprise.
Trust building and Integration as critical leadership skills that will be required of Business in the future is a perspective that is in short supply at the moment. Helen Pitcher OBE argues that we can not afford to ignore the 30% to 40% tranche of females emerging from Commercial, Organisational and Charitable Boards who are likely to have these skills, as such we need to rapidly accelerate the numbers of Female Chairman of our Boards.
Helen Pitcher OBE has contributed to the Cranfield University Report “The Female FTSE Board Report 2019”. This report is an important barometer, helping us measure just how much progress has been made in appointing women onto boards. This report is part of a larger initiative with INSEAD, The Pipeline, various FTSE chairman, Senior women and head-hunters to help accelerate getting more women into FTSE chairman roles.
The amount of energy being 'token woman' on a board demands leads women to leave sooner, or it could be that they're being pushed experts warn
Women on FTSE 100 boards serve shorter tenures and are less likely to be promoted to senior roles, according to Cranfield University School of Management’s annual Female FTSE Board Report.
Independent external board evaluations emerged in parallel with the general development of the governance code for companies. The question now arises whether their current shape is fit for purpose in the modern corporate environment, where society/CSR and employee engagement are playing an increasing part in the context of a company’s right to operate and accumulate numerous benefits and advantages from society?
The sustainability of companies and businesses able to contribute and benefit all of their stakeholders, is increasingly at the forefront of the minds of Politicians, Regulators, Society Pressure groups and Individuals. It is also the clarion call of the massive Pension Investment sector focused on aligning investments to positive benefits and stewardship for society.
In the UK, a quota was imposed following the 2011 publication of the Davies Report, which set a target of 25% females on FTSE 100 Boards by 2015 – which was achieved. The subsequent Hampton-Alexander Review (both INSEAD alumni) upped the target to 33%, but, more importantly, reinforced the Davies’s aspiration to drive such targets deep into the FTSE 350, with a focus on the development of a pipeline of women leaders destined for the executive committee.
