In 2006, ten new female directors were elected to the boards of Swiss listed companies. Ethos commends the introduction of more women on boards, where their presence remains traditionally low, despite the continuously growing number of female graduates active in all sectors of the economy.
If this is a first for Bobst, Calida, Kudelski, Lonza and UBS, two women now sit on the boards of BKW FMB Energie, Bossard, Nestlé, Roche and Swisscom. The proportion of women on the boards of the 100 largest Swiss listed companies therefore rises to 6.7% (9.5% for companies on the Swiss Market Index), against 29% in Norway, 20% in Sweden, 18% in Denmark, 12% in the US, 11% in the UK and in Canada, and only 7% in France and Australia. In Japan, for cultural reasons, women are completely absent from the boards of listed companies.
20 years ago, the "Glass Ceiling Commission" was established in the US and charged with preparing recommendations to help women and minorities break the invisible glass ceiling preventing them from advancing up the corporate ladder to management and executive level positions. For the twentieth anniversary of the Commission, many studies conducted an inventory of female participation in the business world. Results are rather disappointing. With the exception of Nordic countries, where promotional policies are put in place, elsewhere the number of female directors remains remarkably low and stable.
To improve diversity and gender equality, Norway, champion of women participation, went a step further imposing a 40% female quota by 2008 to the boards of the 650 largest listed companies. In Spain, where the presence of women on boards is very low (4%), the government has also taken the matter into grasp. According to a draft for a new law on equal opportunities, boards of listed companies will also have to reach a 40% female quota. However, to come into force, the law will first have to be approved by the Parliament.
A question of efficiency
Currently, companies do not only consider the presence of women on boards from an ethical stand point, but also argue in favour of the "business case" of diversity. Indeed, it is now accepted that mixed teams (men/women) are better at resolving problems than non mixed ones. Furthermore, according to the CEO of Boyden, a firm of head hunters, "women are superior to men at multi-tasking, team-building and communicating, which have become the essential skills for running a 21st century corporation".
To avoid problems inherent to the imposition of quotas, the desired "feminisation" of boards will have to go through a thorough analysis of the reasons underlying the absence of women at the top of corporations, as well as through the implementation of measures facilitating their career.
