SUMMARY – Panel Discussion: “Die Frauenquote and other routes to Board diversity”
Fidelio Partners, the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce and the German British Forum hosted the Seminar and Panel Discussion of senior speakers on Tuesday 26th January 2016 with Nabarro LLP.
The panel discussion drew upon the views of panellists with extensive international Executive and Board experience, in particular in the UK and Germany. The discourse was exceptionally candid and based on first-hand experience of hard business challenges.
The panellists were:
- Lady Barbara Judge, Chairman of the Institute of Directors;
- Edelgard Bulmahn, Vice President of the German Bundestag;
- Carl-Peter Forster, Member of the Board of Directors at Volvo Cars Corporation and Geely
Automobile Holdings, the London Taxi Company, IMI plc and Rexam plc; - Dr Marion Helmes, Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ProSiebenSat 1, Non-
Executive Director of NXP Semiconductors; - Elisabeth Lady Stheeman, Supervisory Board Member of Aareal Bank AG, Supervisory
Board Member of TLG Immobilien AG; - Daniela Weber-Rey, Chief Governance Officer at Deutsche Bank AG;
- Patricia Godfrey, Partner, Nabarro LLP;
- Gillian Karran-Cumberlege, Founding Partner, Fidelio Partners.
We have set out below some of the key themes which emerged from the evening.
Quota or no Quota?
A poll taken at the beginning of the evening revealed that 32% of participants were in favour of a quota, a surprisingly high percentage considering the UK’s almost universal rejection of quotas in
business. Also several panellists concurred that if asked 10 years ago they would have been opposed to a quota but, having witnessed the slow rate of change, they now see the need for formal intervention under specific circumstances, for example, including a limiting ‘sunset clause’.
Cultural Differences
An emerging theme of the evening was that Germany has been slower to embrace gender diversity at a senior corporate level than many economies. Cultural conservatism was identified as a major
challenge, with many working mothers in Germany facing criticism. Interestingly the three-year long maternity leave which mothers in Germany are given, and for which Germany has been praised, was seen as a hindrance rather than a help to women’s career progression.
The need to “lean in” was recognised. But concern was expressed that this was easier for an elite that could afford childcare. Clearly there is much that companies and the government can do to
support employees at all levels who are juggling family and work commitments. Importantly, the sharing of childcare was seen by our audience as a critical step towards building the pipeline and
achieving Board diversity.
Several of the women who had defied these cultural pressures to reach the Boardroom spoke of the influence of their own working mothers. The majority had also progressed their careers by working outside Germany, in the US or the UK for example, where there was greater tolerance of combining career and motherhood.
The Will for Change
Guests and speakers spoke openly of how hard they had worked to succeed to the Boardroom. This included long hours, being good at one’s job and a willingness to accept difficult assignments. Some of these assignments meant personal sacrifice. The debate, while discussing obstacles to diversity, was forward-looking and panellists were encouraged to highlight initiatives that they felt could make tangible progress. Key points to take away were:
1. What is measured can be managed
It was recognised that measuring progress on diversity and adopting a structured and systematic approach to increase diversity at all levels of an organisation is a precursor to achieving diversity at the most senior levels. US companies have been adopting this approach for decades. General Motors (GM) was cited as an example of the implementation of a gender diversity management initiative, which required monthly reporting about how diversity was being achieved at all levels. The initiative systematically improved diversity over a number of years and GM, despite operating in a sector which has very few female executives, now boasts a female CEO.
2. There are enough good women
Engineering companies frequently complain that there are too few female engineers and that this is a reason for gender imbalance at Board level. Yet, Boards require a range of skills, including finance, strategy, regulation and sector expertise. Our panel, which included two female lawyers by training and two women with backgrounds in finance, showed that there are many qualified and talented women from a range of professional backgrounds out there, one simply needs to know where to look.
3. We need to re-frame the question
There was a general feeling that going forward, and as part of the drive for diversity, steps would need to be taken to encourage women into certain sectors, such as engineering. Edelgard Bulmahn
in her keynote address referred to universities that offered engineering courses combined with other courses such as environmental sciences which had a higher success rate of attracting female
students to engineering.
Conclusion
The discussion was very frank and did not shy away from obstacles and barriers. It did, however, make a powerful business case for Board diversity. Bringing different perspectives to the Boardroom makes businesses more successful, agile and resilient in times of crisis and change. But there is also a macro-economic dimension that should not be overlooked. European businesses are facing a skills shortage. This is a very real quota that needs to be addressed and women need to be part of the solution.