Churchill Fellowship Report

Claire Braund, February 2012

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The purpose of Claire Braund's Churchill Fellowship was to examine policies and programs in place in the UK, Norway and France to increase the number of women on boards and in management/ executive roles. In six weeks between September and October 2011 she interviewed more than 60 people, presented to a professional women's network and a university forum and attended a global women's forum as one of 1,300 delegates.

Her research specifically addressed:

• Implementation of the quota system in Norway and France
• Progress towards recommendations of the Davies Report in the UK
• Economic drivers for diversity within the subject countries
• Workforce and diversity policies and their uptake by men and women
• Use and effectiveness of gender targets at general, management and executive levels
• Cultural effects of quotas and targets on companies and their leaders and staff
• New and innovative strategies being used to capture and retain talent
• The debate on quotas, targets, and the encouragement of women into director and senior roles

Key learnings

Australia is well placed to address gender diversity on boards, but needs to keep focussed to enable retain the momentum which has enabled it to be ahead of the UK on this issue. There is power in building international coalitions around the social and economic imperatives of a more gender equal world.

Conclusions

• Boardroom quotas get women on boards, improve governance and change thinking. They do not move women into the executive pipeline.
• Europe is moving towards quotation law at individual country and EU levels.
• The UK is following Australia in using its corporate governance code to push companies to set gender targets and report performance.
• Traditional role modelling, stereotypes and unconscious gender bias is as common in Norway, France and much of Western Europe as it is in the UK.
• Most companies are playing around the edges of reform workforce practices and approaches to retaining and recruiting women into roles in management and above.
• The same issues affect women in the UK, Norway and France and include; child bearing and care, equal pay and insufficient retirement funds and perceived weaknesses in CVs
• Women appear to universally under-sell and under-rate themselves.

Recommendations

• The Australian Government commission the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee to conduct a review of the progress towards improving the numbers of women on the boards of ASX500 companies. The review should identify the barriers preventing more women reaching the boardroom and to make recommendations regarding what government and business could do to increase the proportion of women on ASX boards.
• Arising from the CAMAC report and as per the arrangements from the Davies Report, the Government appoint and resource a six-person steering committee to meet every six months and report annually on progress.
• Representatives to include at least one ASX director and one representative each from the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Australian Human Resources Institute, Chartered Secretaries Australia, Women on Boards and a graduate business school.
• The Government commit to looking at boardroom quotas if ASX companies have not achieved 25% female representation at board level by 2014.
• The ASX Corporate Governance Council consults on Corporate Governance Principle 2 with regard to appointing independent members to the nominations committee.
• Executive search firms develop a code of conduct for best practice search methods to improve women‟s opportunities and access to jobs in the boardroom and at executive and management levels.
• Treasury conduct a study on the economic cost of keeping women out of the workforce in Australia and the value of improving funds for childcare and other services to improve workforce participation.
• Organisations need to give greater encouragement and support to women to move into more challenging roles.