BOARDROOM DIVERSITY: SLOW PROGRESS
February 2022 Edition - Written by Lesley Stephenson
The under-representation of women on boards remains a key area of focus for organisations globally, but overall progress remains slow, and for women in leadership positions, even slower.
The seventh edition of the Women in the boardroom: A global perspective report from Deloitte includes updates from 72 countries on gender diversity in the boardroom, exploring insights on the political, social, and legislative trends behind the numbers.
The 2022 report reveals a disconnect between gender progress on boards and in the executive suite; only 6.7% of chairs on boards are women, with even fewer women holding the CEO role, at just 5%.
This year’s report revealed a clear correlation between women in top leadership roles and women in the boardroom. The most diverse boards tend to be found at companies with women chief executive officers (CEOs) or chairs. Companies with women CEOs have significantly more balanced boards than those run by men - 33.5% women versus 19.4% men. The statistics are similar for companies with female chairs.
Similarly, another report carried out by Deloitte into women leaders in the financial services industry found strong evidence, at the organisational level, of what it calls the multiplier effect - adding one woman to the C-suite resulted in three women joining senior management roles.
However, board diversity is broader than simply gender. According to a recent Spencer Stuart Report, 43% of FTSE 100 companies reported the number or percentage of minority ethnic directors on the board; 29% merely report that they are either ‘compliant’ or ‘non-compliant’ with the Parker Review target of ‘One by 21’. Only 9% of companies chose a granular approach and reported how each director self-identifies.
The Spencer Stuart report singles out Lloyds Banking Group for praise. The group goes beyond what is proposed by the Parker Review and the Hampton-Alexander Review and reports more comprehensive DE&I data. The company discloses the gender and ethnicity of board members and senior managers, as well as disability, gender identity and sexual orientation across all colleagues as part of the company’s Race Action Plan.
There’s still a way to go.