RBS and Standard Life have backed calls to narrow the gender gap at a boardroom level in Scotland’s listed businesses.
Community interest group Women’s Enterprise Scotland has also been backed by the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Women’s Enterprise in calls for boards to follow the Scottish Government’s Partnership for Change commitment to achieve a 50/50 gender balance on boards by 2020.
That group’s convener, Gillian Martin MSP said: “One of the four strategic areas of focus [in Scotland’s Economic Strategy] relates to Inclusive Growth, addressing long-standing barriers to equality and diversity in the labour market as an economic policy.
“Research consistently shows that diverse boards perform better, leading to more independence, innovation, good governance and improved financial performance.”
The calls were made following research by The Herald which revealed that women currently account for just 15 per cent of boardroom seats among Scotland’s listed trading companies.
Malcolm Buchanan, chairman of Scotland board, RBS – which is the only such business to have four women on its main board – said: “At RBS, we have a focus on developing our most talented staff in order to achieve the best results.
“More than a third of the RBS boardroom is women and we recognise the value which greater diversity brings to our business.”
He said the bank had surpassed an internal target of having 30 per cent of its top 5,000 roles held by women, and it is now seeking to achieve the same results for its top 600 roles.
At Standard Life, three board members are women and, for the last six years, around 30 per cent of its non-executive board directors have been female.
“We welcome the opportunity to further collaborate with organisations across Scotland to promote the value of a diverse workforce,” said Sandy Begbie, chief people officer, Standard Life. "At Standard Life, we have a fundamental belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to fulfil their potential in an inclusive workplace.
“This includes breaking down barriers to ensure women are represented at all levels of our organisation, including our board.”
Calling the statistics “simply shameful,” Lynne Cadenhead chair of Women’s Enterprise Scotland said they “present a poor image of Scotland as a progressive nation and a place for women to fully realise their business potential”.
She added: “The time for talking is over. We need action and we need to work together to relegate the current statistics to the past and achieve a vibrant and fully inclusive business community."
Ms Cadenhead said one solution would be the introduction of more junior boards. This was backed by Geoff Leask, chief executive of Young Enterprise Scotland, who said: “The participation by young women in our company programme as directors of Young Enterprise Scotland companies is greater than that of their male counterparts and indeed the company director of the year has been a female for the last two years.
“The desire by young females is present - it is about ensuring that the appropriate support is given to ensure the continuation and development of this talent.”
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