The review
Women on boards - February 2011
The review was first announced by BIS in August 2010, when the department issued a press release announcing that Lord Davies had been asked to build on the work carried out by Professor Laura Tyson in her 2003 report.
Lord Davies' review was subsequently published by BIS on 24 February 2011, as announced in the press release FTSE 100 companies should aim for 25% women board members – Lord Davies recommends.
The review's recommendations include that FTSE 100 companies should be aiming for a minimum of 25% female board member representation by 2015; quoted companies should disclose annually the proportion of women on the board, in senior executive positions and in the whole organisation; and the UK Corporate Governance Code should be amended by the FRC to require listed companies to establish a policy concerning boardroom diversity.
Since the original review the follow-up reports have been published:
Online articles
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UK failing on diversity, female financiers, reports say
Smaller companies in Britain's FTSE All-Share Index are lagging behind their larger peers when it comes to having diverse representation on their boards, according to a report by Women on Boards UK.
Are the UK's corporate leaders sexist? Some FTSE 350 bosses give 'appalling excuses' for not hiring women to the board.
The article highlights the findings of Hampton-Alexander Review, the government-backed, business-led body that's attempting to increase the proportion of women on boards to one third by 2020, about corporate excuses' for not hiring women to the board. Several excuses found in the review includes women's abilities to deal with pressure of sitting on the board, reduced number of women with the right credentials and depth of experience.
Boardroom diversity barometer
The article presents the results of the survey on the most admired companies in Great Britain. It states that the number of priority was the expertise followed by experience and creative thinking. It notes that religion was considered the least important of the qualities. It mentions that the views of boardroom diversity is changing.
Women at the top
The Davies report succeeded in putting the issue of women on boards centre stage, but four years on women still hold only 8.6% of executive directorships.