Spencer Stuart to present at the 7th Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society Global Meeting
12 October 2011
Deauville—Spencer Stuart, the leading global executive search consulting firm, is leading discussions at the 7th Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society Global Meeting on the qualities and experience that define good directors and how to address the issue of increasing women in the boardroom. The firm’s annual survey of the composition of leading company boards across Europe reveals major differences between countries when it comes to addressing the need for more women on boards.
In France, where quotas are in place requiring 20% of directors of listed companies boards to be women by 2014, rising to 40% by 2017, boards have taken swift action to address the issue of gender imbalance. In the first seven months of this year, 28 out of 44 director appointments were women. The representation of women on CAC40 boards has risen from 9.8% to 20.8% overall.
By contrast, in Spain only 10% of board members are women, despite the law which requires companies to have 40% women directors by 2015. Italian companies have among the lowest representations of women in Europe. Only 4.8% of board directors in the top 100 companies are women; 55% of companies do not have a single female director.
In the UK, the number of female non-executives has risen to 17.5% (against a target of 25% by 2015). In Germany, where there are no firm guidelines in place, 15.2% of supervisory board directors are women. In Switzerland the figure is 9.5%. Companies in the Netherlands with over 150 employees must have 30% women by 2016, but still lag far behind that figure. Norway remains the most progressive country in Europe when it comes to female representation on boards; today 44% of board directors are women.
One of the major factors affecting the pace of change is the relatively small pipeline of senior women executives, which tends to be where chairmen choose to look first for new directors. Boards are, however, showing a willingness to explore new candidate pools such as senior HR, legal or communications executives and those without direct corporate experience, such as lawyers and other professional advisers, civil servants and entrepreneurs.
“If boards are serious about diversity of views on the board, and specifically expanding female representation, they need to engage in a selection process that casts a wide net and looks for the best candidate — not just the one known to board members” said Julie Daum, co-leader Spencer Stuart North American Board & CEO Practice. “Boards should devote time to thinking about the company’s strategic direction and consider whether they have all the right skills and perspectives around the table in light of the company’s strategy. Regular reviews of the board composition and potential skill gaps may illuminate areas of expertise where the pool of female board candidates is strong.”
The recent ‘Davies Report’ commissioned by the UK government emphasizes the importance of identifying women who have the intrinsic qualities to become non-executive directors, even though they may not have board-level or even corporate experience. Spencer Stuart is committed to helping its clients identify the presence of these intrinsic qualities in potential female director candidates.
More details on the progress being made by individual countries can be found at http://static.spencerstuart.com/fdt2011/Female_Director_Trends.pdf.
For further information contact:
Julie Daum
Board & CEO Practice co-leader, North America
Spencer Stuart
jdaum@spencerstuart.com
Hélène Vareille
Board & CEO Practice, Europe
Spencer Stuart
hvareille@spencerstuart.com
Angeles Garcia-Poveda
Office manager, Spencer Stuart Paris
Spencer Stuart
agpoveda@spencerstuart.com
Julie, Hélène and Angeles can be contacted via email and may also be available in the Women on Boards corner in Discovery Hall.
About Spencer Stuart
Spencer Stuart is one of the world’s leading executive search consulting firms. Privately held since 1956, Spencer Stuart applies its extensive knowledge of industries, functions and talent to advise select clients — ranging from major multinationals to emerging companies to nonprofit organisations — and address their leadership requirements. Through 51 offices in 27 countries and a broad range of practice groups, Spencer Stuart consultants focus on senior-level executive search, board director appointments, succession planning and in-depth senior executive management assessments.
For more information about Spencer Stuart, please visit www.spencerstuart.com.