The May edition (or it may be titled June) of the IRM magazine has an interesting article on women on Boards in the UK titled “All trousers, no skirts?”
The focus of the article is the risk Boards are taking by not heading the diversity storm.
You may question “risk” – this could be reputational risk, performance risk and board effectiveness risk.
This is not far fetched, particularly the reputational risk question. The media, investors and other interested bodies are focusing on this issue and are quick to name and shame Chairmen and companies not taking this seriously.Women do not want the quota system in general and do not wish to be seen as tokens, but wish to be appointed in their own right. This does require the nominations committees and headhunters to open the net wider than the very narrow focus currently being adopted.
Research indicates a correlation between reduced insolvency risk and women on Boards.
Quote by Genius Methods CEO in the article states ”Constancon says the connection makes sense. She adds “A more diverse Board is probably a Board of a better governed company where the Board brings value to the organisation””