Foluke and her neices

For my last article for theglasshammer.com, I wrote a profile of Intrepid Woman Foluke Akinlose, founder of  website Precious and the accompanying Precious Awards,  both of which celebrate the talents of women of colour in the UK.

I met Foluke at a networking event in August and was so blown away by her talents and passion to help women and girls be the best that they can be that I immediately pitched an article on her to my editor.

And here it is - I hope it does her justice.

Read my profile of her here and learn why she suggests that women should never eat lunch alone.

Read the rest of the story here.

As the debate around the use of quotas to increase the number of women on UK boards continues, so does the need to look at what’s working around the world to shift the gender diversity needle.

Earlier this month, the European Professional Women’s Network invited Claire Braund (pictured), co-founder of Women on Boards, the leading advocate for improving gender diversity on Australian boards, to a London event to speak about the Australian story and outline Australia’s track record of success around women gaining access to board positions in business, government, community and not-for-profit sectors.

Read my report of the event here.

One woman wrote to me to say:

“My daughter has just been diagnosed [with] ADHD. As a working mother you think ‘maybe if I had stayed at home she would be ok’. (I know it’s silly). So the article means a lot to me – thank you.” 

Britain’s biggest companies have more than doubled the number of women they are appointing to boardroom jobs since Lord Davies, the government’s champion of female board representation, told businesses this year that within four years a quarter of senior bosses should be women.

FTSE 100 companies have recruited 23 women to their boards this year – representing about 30% of total board appointments – after Davies said they should sign up to a voluntary target of 25% board representation by 2015.

Read the rest of the article here.

Pictured – Helena Morrissey of Newton Investment Management, a founder of the 30% Club.

According to a recent survey by executive recruiters Harvey Nash, 81% of women feel that bias in the appointment process has a major impact on female representation – but two-thirds (64%) do not support legal quotas.

Instead, respondents cited education and awareness as the single biggest opportunity for improving boardroom balance (44%), followed by published targets and regular reporting (40%). Eighty-four percent of women believe they personally need to do more to achieve a higher representation on the board.

It appears from the survey, conducted of 365 male and female board level and senior executives, that the majority of women in business want to be taken seriously for their expertise and not simply be viewed as having “won” a place on the board through a mandated quota, an observation with which Charlotte Sweeney, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, EMEA at Nomura PLC agreed. She said, “Women want to be appointed into roles because they are the best person for the role, not because they are a woman.”

Read the rest of the article here.

She’s had a fascinating global career in knowledge management with the accounting giant and you can read her profile here.

In February 2011, Lord Davies of Abersoch released his long-awaited report,Women on Boards, a review of female representation at senior levels in UK plc. It was handed to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and sets out recommendations on targets to improve the gender balance in business. It stopped short of recommending the introduction of mandatory quotas (as already seen in Norway and Spain) but suggests that FTSE 100 companies should aim to have at least 25% female board member representation by 2015 – an increase from the 12.5% reported in 2010.

Other recommendations include the requirement for FTSE 350 companies to set their own targets on female representation, that companies should advertise non-executive board positions in order to encourage greater diversity in applications and that headhunting firms should draw up a voluntary code to address gender diversity.

Read the rest of the article here.

Each year, TIAW recognises up to 100 women from around the world who have contributed to the economic empowerment of women and supported their advancement in society and business.

I will be attending the Global Forum in Washington DC this October and I’m very much looking forward to meeting my fellow award winners and hearing their stories.