Evidence is increasingly showing that a gender balanced Board is more effective and that the Woman Effect has a positive impact on profit. What is the current problem wth Boards, and how can prospective Board members and organisations change this imbalance at the top?

1. Gender balance at the top:
Why is it Different for Girls?
Jane Wilson
@thatwilsonwoman

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Is there a problem at the top?
The Leaking Pipeline
The gender balance business case
The future of leadership
Practical steps, positive action

3. Is there a Problem at the top?
• 15% of private business are owned by
women
• 19% of FTSE 100 Directors are female
• 6% of FTSE 100 Exec Directors are
female
• 24% of FTSE 100 Non Exec Directors
female
• 22% UK MPs female
Source:
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
October 2013

4. In my world
In the PR profession:
• Women more likely to hold mid level /
manager positions than men (31% v 23%)
• Men twice as likely as women to be
Directors, Partners or MDs (27% v 14%)
• Men 3x more likely to earn highest salaries
in the industry (9% over £150k v 3%)
• Glass ceiling at £47k / manager level
Source:
Chartered Institute of Public Relations State of the
Profession Survey 2012

5. The Leaking Pipeline

6. Debunking the myths
• Women have to take extended time out to have
children and lose skills
• There are not enough women to fill senior
roles
• Women are not as ambitious as men
• Corporate life doesn’t suit women as much as
men
Source:
Women in Leadership, Ernst & Young Australia

7. The gender balance business case
Studies show that
significant presence of
female leaders in an
organisation measurably
contributes to its health and
wealth.

8. Don’t take my word for it
Fortune 500 companies with three or more
women in board positions created a
competitive advantage over companies with
no women on their boards in the following
three areas:
• Return on Sales: 84% advantage
• Return on Invested Capital: 60% advantage
• Return on Equity: 46% advantage
Source:
Catalyst, The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance &
Women’s Representation on Boards (2004–2008)
Further supporting research by McKinsey, HBR, Tinbergen Institute via www.inpowerwomen.com

9. Good news
“The Woman
Effect” is already
making a
difference

10. Cass Business School predicts
“The Feminisation
of Leadership”

11. Practical steps .. for women
• Be assertive. Studies show women leaders no longer
rated down for expressing assertiveness
• If you are not on the Board but in a senior management
role, ask to attend meetings when the Board is
considering projects from your area.
• Analyse the skills and experience currently on your
Board and others. What are the skills that bring value?
• Add something new. Success is rarely about replicating
something that already exists.
• Get experience elsewhere. But participate fully or you
will not add value or learn anything.
• Get qualified.
Source:
British Journal of Psychology, 2013

12. Positive action.. for business
• Build a gender neutral culture
• Make childcare a parental not maternal issue &
re-look at the economics of childcare
• Consider mentoring and positive role modelling
• Take a positive attitude to diversity and equality
and open your eyes to unconscious bias
• Consider your stance on targets v quotas for
leadership roles
• Re-look at how contribution is
valued, particularly for those flexible or parttime roles

13. Some final words of advice
“Lean in…”
Sheryl Sandberg
COO, Facebook

14. “If we lean in
any further
we’ll fall over”
Avril Lee
Ex CEO, Ketchum London

15. Thank you