We have seen some rather exciting progress regarding the continued effort to get more women into the boardroom. Driven partially by the government commissioned Lord Davies report, headway is being made and the path to the boardroom, which at a time seemed insurmountable for women, is finally looking as if it can be more readily negotiated.
Such progress is fantastic news because women bring different skills to the board table. Over the years, there have been a number of studies on the benefits of having diverse boards. There have been indications that companies with more women on their boards outperform companies with a low number of women in senior management positions, so if we are talking about business benefits of diversity at board level, research tells us there are.
The Financial Skills Partnership, which has long since championed the cause of empowering women, and all employees, through various means of engagement, consultation and upskilling, has developed a new employer-led initiative.
The new programme titled Changing the Landscape at Board Level is primarily aimed at empowering women already on boards to excel and those in senior positions to progress to board level and become effective, both within their companies and on the boards they join. The aim is to help women take advantage of new opportunities being made available to them and make the most of their skills.
Changing the Landscape at Board Level was developed following consultation with women working in the financial services sector and is delivered in partnership with FSTP Global who are specialists in board development and governance in the financial services industry. It is specifically designed to address key business needs; such as Building Leadership Presence, Gathering Intelligence and Driving Results, and Holding Your Own.
In addition to this, individual options, which will be delivered by one-to-one executive coaching, can cover everything including developing emotional intelligence, growing your assertiveness and dealing with organisational politics.
The programme, which is co-funded by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills through the Employer Investment Fund, will be delivered in three parts and will begin on Wednesday 18 September.
The Lord Davies report was commissioned to find out what was preventing women from becoming board members and to develop a strategy to increase the number of women on the boards of listed companies.
The target set of a 25 per cent female representation on boards of the FTSE 100 companies by 2015 may have appeared overly ambitious; however, recent reports show that businesses are making real efforts to find and appoint capable women to their boards. This gives credence to the belief that we are now in a time where it is unacceptable for the voice of women to be absent from the boardroom.
Sceptics may scoff at the aforementioned claims and to state that gender bias is 100 per cent eroded would be erroneous. There is still progress to be made to reach the 25 per cent figure recommended in the report.
However, with 94 of FTSE 100 companies counting women on their boards and over two thirds of all FTSE 350 companies, showing likewise, progress is definitely being made. In addition to this, two years on from the Lord Davies report, figures show that female representation on corporate boards at FTSE 100 companies has increased to 17.3 per cent, up from 12.5 per cent. The priority now must be to maintain this impetus and couple it with fresh enthusiasm to further promote women.
Never before has there been such an opportunity for women to break through into the highest positions at their companies. 21st century women have the chance to make their mark in the boardroom and so it is the perfect time for a programme like Changing the Landscape at Board Level. Employers want and need diverse boards and so are looking at the pipeline very earnestly to make the most out of women’s skills at all levels.
Women in senior positions have already proved to be more than capable at their respective companies. Changing the Landscape at Board Level will help them to recognise the dynamics at work at board level and give them the support and confidence to level the playing field and appreciate the value they can bring to the boardroom.
We have already seen a great deal of success and positive feedback from our Through the Glass Ceiling programme. We are now looking to provide the next step for senior women that we hope will go a long way in changing the perceptions that still exist in some quarters about female leaders.
Liz Field is the chief executive officer at Financial Skills Partnership
