Gender Parity on Boards

Helen Pitcher OBE was appointed as Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission in January 2023.

Helen talks to Bhini Phagura, of Rayden Solicitors, about her view on gender parity on Boards.

Why do you consider gender parity on Boards is important?

Women are 50% of the population, it is therefore logical that they should hold 50% of the senior roles. It provides diversity of thought amongst other things. There is a great deal of research that shows Boards with Gender Parity outperform those which do not have it (McKinsey published another survey in April). The risk profile is more robust, challenge, debate and the dynamic greatly improved. From a role model perspective, it is also important. A myth for many years was that women are risk averse; this has not been proven to be the case, typically women take a more reasoned view, consider if there are any unintended consequences, pay attention to cultural nuances etc.

When I was a member of the Senior Executive Team in Grand Metropolitan, I was one of only four women in the cadre. This has now changed and GrandMet (now DIAGEO) is one of the leading companies in the FTSE 100 for Diversity (in all its forms) as evidenced in the recent FTSE Women Leaders’ Review.

Do I think I was disadvantaged as a woman - No! Did I feel I had to work harder to prove myself? Yes, but this was a selfimposed limitation.

What is your view on the progress of gender parity on Boards to date?

The progress has been good. I involve myself in a lot of initiatives that have supported the progress on Boards. A number of Boards have a 50:50 representation and have certainly hit the targets set by the Women Leaders’ initiatives.

When these initiatives first started the progress was woeful. Sir Mervin Davies, who headed the initiative, publicly named and shamed those Chairman who did not have a woman on their Board and challenged them to resign. It sent shockwaves throughout the system that a man would say these things and effectively challenge the, then ‘boys club’!

The area that worries me more is the pipeline, women tend to leave organisations as a result of the culture, lack of flexible working, etc. This reduces the available pool. The pandemic has proved that we can work different i.e., flexibly, remotely, hybrid etc, which has benefited those with caring responsibilities and enabled people to remain in the workforce.

The pipeline will determine whether we have enough women who can come through to the Board, promoting more suitably qualified women into key executive roles is vital and should

be a key KPI for any Chief Executive, Chairman or Senior Executive. Board Evaluation can shine a light on this. As a Board Evaluator I often find it is the Chairman who have daughters who have been most supportive of this.

What tactics should be adopted for greater gender parity?

I don’t believe tactics work, there has to be a clear strategy. It will not work if it is a series of individual tactics, the strategy needs to be embedded into the business imperatives and it must be the responsibility of every single leader at all levels in the organisation.

You have held a number of high profile positions on Boards, how did you build your career towards that profile?

I was purposeful about it. I have had several good mentors over the years (all male). I analysed my skills, sector experience etc (manufacturing, publishing, education, charity, food, drinks, legal) and created a pie chart, the segments were Law, Commercial, Education and Charity. This reflects the portfolio I have now. It meant I had clarity upon the roles I wished to pursue based on where I could add best value.

If female lawyers are interested in developing their CV in order to apply for Board positions, what steps should they take?

First and foremost, women should understand their transferable skills. It is true, lawyers are not the first port of call for a Chairman, however, the transference skills are, i.e. strategic, influencing, questioning, analysing, summarising asking good questions, drawing people out, are all skills that are needed on a Board. Presenting your material (CV) in that way will be of interest to a Chairman. Sector knowledge is also important.

Networking is also key and not a ‘nice to have’. It ensures connectivity to the right people and also increases our knowledge and insight if done well.

Participating in education around the role of Boards and Directors is also key. There are many programmes, INSEAD, IOD, Financial Times etc. I personally believe that it won’t be long before the regulators mandate that you cannot be on a Board without being appropriately qualified. CPD is also important as the roles and responsibilities of Directors are changing fast. Also, the liabilities for NED and Executives are exactly the same, understanding this is key.