Give more women a seat
on the boardThe North West Women and Work Task Force launched last year, recommends that women should make up at least 30% of all boards. There is a long way to go, as the current percentage of female business leaders in the region is only 9%. To achieve gender balance across all sectors in the North West would require twice as many women as there are currently in leadership roles.
The Task Force calls for concerted efforts to increase the availability of flexible working; change workplace culture to attract and retain women at the top and promote positive role models to inspire and support more women to put themselves forward.
Chair of the Task Force Vanda Murray said: “We are not advocating tokenism, rather a range of practical measures which remove the barriers to female progression and create a more even playing field for talented women.”
Angie Robinson, the former Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Chamber who took up post as head of Manchester’s inward investment agency, MIDAS, agreed to be part of the Task Force because she recognises the importance of diversity to the regional economy:
“In my business we need to understand and work with the differences. The variety of business types, sizes and sectors in our patch is immense, as is the variety of people and it's great."
The Task Force has published its report, 'The Case for Strong and Diverse Leadership Teams' in time to influence the Government’s own review on the issue. The Coalition Government is committed to promoting gender equality on the boards of listed companies and has said that half of all new public appointments should go to women by the end of the life of this Parliament. The Call for Evidence to the Government’s review of women on boards took place in November 2010.
READ THE REPORT
the_case_for_strong_and_diverse_leadership_teams.pdf
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