Government launches boardroom diversity drive
6th August 2010
A new drive has been launched by the government to increase the
number of women in the UK's boardrooms.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills revealed that
its new aim is for at least half of all those appointed to the
boards of public bodies by the end of the current parliament to be
women.
In addition, Lord Mervyn Davies of Abersoch has been tasked with
creating a business strategy to ensure more women are included on
the boards of the UK's listed companies.
Business minister Edward Davey said the coalition is committed
to boardroom diversity and is attempting to lead by example with
the new plan.
'We want to work with business leaders to remove the obstacles
to UK plc benefiting from the skills and experience of women. This
is not just about gender equality, but about improving performance
and ultimately productivity too,' he added.
Research carried out by Cranfield University in 2009 found that
female directors made up 12.2 per cent of FTSE 100 companies'
boards.
Last month, the Government Equalities Office published the
timetable for the implementation of the Equality Act, which will
start to be introduced from October.