Compulsion is not the route to sexual equality
Perhaps it was just a pre-election publicity stunt, but the prime minister celebrated International Women’s Day by threatening action against companies that do not put more women on their boards. That’s rich from a man whose 22-member cabinet contains just four females.
That’s slightly better than the 12 per cent of FTSE board seats occupied by females – and at least the cabinet ministers can be considered executive when most women directors are non-exec – but it is far below the prime minister’s own target for the civil service of women holding 39 per cent of senior positions and 35 per cent of top government management posts.
Gordon’s Brown has written to the Financial Reporting Council calling for the corporate governance code to include a clause forcing companies to say what they are doing to promote women. That is on top of an Equality Bill that permits positive discrimination by companies and recommendations on sex discrimination from the Equality & Human Rights Commission.
“If we do not see a dramatic change in the composition of company boards in the future, we will need to consider taking more action,” threatens Brown.
You can’t fault his sentiments but you can argue with the tactics. The Government Equalities Office commissioned a poll to coincide with this onslaught on male-dominated boards. It found that 80 per cent of the public think a balanced management team better understands its customers, 61 per cent think business is losing out on talent, 78 per cent do not think men are better at running companies, etc, etc, etc.
The money wasted on the poll is beaten only by the statements of the obvious it produced. The surprise is not that 80 per cent think balanced managements are good but that 20 per cent think otherwise - or that 39 per cent think business is not neglecting talent in ignoring women or 22 per cent apparently think men may be best at running companies.
And as the government poll found 43 per cent of us think investment banks should employ an equal balance of men and women, do 57 per cent not think that? Nevermind what it has do with the general public who City firms employ.
The poll suggests the barrier to women reaching the top is present in the public mind as much as in the boardroom – and possibly in the female half of the public that was polled.
There should be no barriers based on gender. Positions should be open to anyone and offered on the basis of merit. But no-one should be forced to take a job they do not want or employ someone who is not their first choice.
All women should have the chance to climb the corporate ladder – or chase civil-service or cabinet positions – but it may be that not all want to take it. Forcing companies to discriminate positively or give preferential treatment is not the way to achieve equality: if companies want to deny themselves the best talent, that is their business. No one, of either gender, is owed a job.
