Name: Why we need more women in the boardroom...and how to do it
Uploaded: 2024-03-07T15:39:56.152Z
Duration: 348.2

Women on boards V3.mp4

Women on boards V2.vtt

English

{{00:00:00}}
My organisation is set up to advertise
board roles for free, challenge

{{00:00:04}}
organisations to turn off the spotlight
on the people they know and put on

{{00:00:08}}
the floodlight to everyone out there.

{{00:00:23}}
My name is Fiona Hathorn.

{{00:00:24}}
I'm the chief exec of an organisation
called WB Directors, previously and

{{00:00:29}}
commonly known as Women on Boards.

{{00:00:31}}
in the UK.

{{00:00:35}}
You might be aware that in 2012,
the UK government looked at the lack

{{00:00:40}}
of diversity in boardrooms across
the UK, specifically the FTSE 100.

{{00:00:45}}
And they found that only 12
percent of registered board

{{00:00:48}}
directors were actually women.

{{00:00:50}}
And the feeling was
that wasn't good enough.

{{00:00:52}}
And what was really interesting
at the time is the European

{{00:00:55}}
Union were considering quotas.

{{00:00:57}}
And I think our government didn't
particularly like being told

{{00:01:00}}
what to do by the European Union.

{{00:01:02}}
So they decided to actually put
a lot of effort into encouraging,

{{00:01:07}}
nudging, and helping companies change.

{{00:01:09}}
I was getting involved in angel investment
and I couldn't believe The lack of

{{00:01:13}}
money going to female entrepreneurs.

{{00:01:16}}
So I got involved in the movement of women
on boards and set up this organisation

{{00:01:21}}
to help people get into the boardroom.

{{00:01:29}}
In terms of what a board does to
keep it really simple, it only

{{00:01:33}}
does two things conformance.

{{00:01:35}}
which is abiding by the law,
making sure that accounts are filed

{{00:01:39}}
correctly, risk registers, changing
the executive teams, GDPR, general

{{00:01:44}}
data regulation and protection.

{{00:01:46}}
So there's various duties that if
you are a registered company and

{{00:01:49}}
let's remember if you're a registered
company or a registered charity,

{{00:01:53}}
charities get special dispensation
by not paying VAT and companies.

{{00:01:58}}
Also have protections for them, for those
people who are operating the company.

{{00:02:02}}
So there's a reason
those structures exist.

{{00:02:04}}
The other thing boards do is performance.

{{00:02:07}}
Strategy and stargazing.

{{00:02:09}}
What is our strategy?

{{00:02:10}}
How much investment should we put in?

{{00:02:12}}
Do we have the right leadership team?

{{00:02:14}}
And somebody's got to do that
to represent the company.

{{00:02:18}}
Because anybody who sits on a board
who's got to act in the best interest

{{00:02:21}}
of the company even if you're a founder.

{{00:02:30}}
Well firstly, historically,
organisations did not like transparently

{{00:02:35}}
advertising their board roles.

{{00:02:37}}
They preferred the people that they knew.

{{00:02:40}}
So the existing executive team or the
existing chair, the existing boards

{{00:02:44}}
were tapping people on the shoulders and
said, would you like to join our board?

{{00:02:48}}
And we all tend to prefer the person
that we know, but actually that

{{00:02:52}}
doesn't help you in terms of challenge,
diversity,  social mobility, all

{{00:02:58}}
the things that make diverse teams
perform better if you can lead them.

{{00:03:02}}
So my organisation sets up to advertise
board roles for free, challenge

{{00:03:07}}
organisations to turn off the spotlight
on the people they know and put on

{{00:03:11}}
the floodlight to everyone out there.

{{00:03:13}}
And you transparently advertise.

{{00:03:17}}
Still today, most boards do
not transparently advertise.

{{00:03:21}}
Listed companies are expected by
the regulators to use headhunters.

{{00:03:26}}
We've got thousands of members now and
those that know, know that it's worth

{{00:03:30}}
advertising on our website and it's free.

{{00:03:33}}
Free for people to advertise and then
we support anybody thinking about the

{{00:03:38}}
boardroom, explain their board value add.

{{00:03:40}}
Because you have to explain your
board value add, not your executive

{{00:03:44}}
value add, because the role of a board
member is very, very different, and

{{00:03:47}}
that's what we've been set up to do.

{{00:03:54}}
What we do know is that diverse teams
perform better because they see,

{{00:03:59}}
hear, and feel different things.

{{00:04:01}}
And if you're going to launch a
product to a market, Or you're

{{00:04:04}}
going to change your strategy.

{{00:04:06}}
If you're not thinking,  long term in
the round and taking everything into

{{00:04:11}}
consideration, then the chances are
you won't develop a good strategy.

{{00:04:14}}
Those companies with diversity,
and they tend to look at diversity

{{00:04:18}}
in terms of women, because we
can count women very easily.

{{00:04:22}}
These.

{{00:04:22}}
firms,  outperform in terms of profits.

{{00:04:26}}
They outperform in terms of share price.

{{00:04:28}}
Now you can't statistically say it
was because of that, but I think

{{00:04:32}}
you can infer that these companies
are quite frankly better managed.

{{00:04:35}}
But actually, if you put a diverse
team together and you can't lead it.

{{00:04:39}}
You don't listen to them.

{{00:04:41}}
You don't create opportunities.

{{00:04:42}}
You don't manage your teams well.

{{00:04:44}}
And actually, diverse
teams, you can go backwards.

{{00:04:53}}
The boardroom, obviously, you know,
we've made huge progress since 2012.

{{00:04:58}}
We've gone from 12 percent at the
FTSE 350 to around 40 percent today.

{{00:05:02}}
I could say whipped your D.

{{00:05:04}}
you know, done, job done, I
should close my organisation.

{{00:05:07}}
But actually, if you look at the number
of executives that are registered

{{00:05:10}}
in the boardroom, at the FTSE 100,
only 10 percent of those people

{{00:05:14}}
registered accountable for that
organisation,  are executives and

{{00:05:20}}
of that only 20 percent are women.

{{00:05:23}}
So actually, once we've achieved
diversity in the boardroom.

{{00:05:26}}
We haven't achieved diversity of
the executives and then if you start

{{00:05:30}}
looking at other forms of diversity,
you know, black empowerment, ethnicity,

{{00:05:35}}
international representation, there's
still a heck of a lot of work to do to

{{00:05:39}}
really call our organisations to account.

My organisation is set up to advertise
board roles for free, challenge

organisations to turn off the spotlight
on the people they know and put on

I'm the chief exec of an organisation
called WB Directors, previously and

You might be aware that in 2012,
the UK government looked at the lack

of diversity in boardrooms across
the UK, specifically the FTSE 100.

And they found that only 12
percent of registered board

And the feeling was
that wasn't good enough.

And what was really interesting
at the time is the European

And I think our government didn't
particularly like being told

So they decided to actually put
a lot of effort into encouraging,

I was getting involved in angel investment
and I couldn't believe The lack of

So I got involved in the movement of women
on boards and set up this organisation

In terms of what a board does to
keep it really simple, it only

which is abiding by the law,
making sure that accounts are filed

correctly, risk registers, changing
the executive teams, GDPR, general

So there's various duties that if
you are a registered company and

let's remember if you're a registered
company or a registered charity,

charities get special dispensation
by not paying VAT and companies.

Also have protections for them, for those
people who are operating the company.

So there's a reason
those structures exist.

The other thing boards do is performance.

And somebody's got to do that
to represent the company.

Because anybody who sits on a board
who's got to act in the best interest

Well firstly, historically,
organisations did not like transparently

They preferred the people that they knew.

So the existing executive team or the
existing chair, the existing boards

were tapping people on the shoulders and
said, would you like to join our board?

And we all tend to prefer the person
that we know, but actually that

doesn't help you in terms of challenge,
diversity,  social mobility, all

the things that make diverse teams
perform better if you can lead them.

So my organisation sets up to advertise
board roles for free, challenge

Still today, most boards do
not transparently advertise.

Listed companies are expected by
the regulators to use headhunters.

We've got thousands of members now and
those that know, know that it's worth

advertising on our website and it's free.

Free for people to advertise and then
we support anybody thinking about the

boardroom, explain their board value add.

Because you have to explain your
board value add, not your executive

value add, because the role of a board
member is very, very different, and

What we do know is that diverse teams
perform better because they see,

And if you're going to launch a
product to a market, Or you're

If you're not thinking,  long term in
the round and taking everything into

consideration, then the chances are
you won't develop a good strategy.

Those companies with diversity,
and they tend to look at diversity

in terms of women, because we
can count women very easily.

Now you can't statistically say it
was because of that, but I think

you can infer that these companies
are quite frankly better managed.

But actually, if you put a diverse
team together and you can't lead it.

And actually, diverse
teams, you can go backwards.

The boardroom, obviously, you know,
we've made huge progress since 2012.

We've gone from 12 percent at the
FTSE 350 to around 40 percent today.

you know, done, job done, I
should close my organisation.

But actually, if you look at the number
of executives that are registered

in the boardroom, at the FTSE 100,
only 10 percent of those people

registered accountable for that
organisation,  are executives and

So actually, once we've achieved
diversity in the boardroom.

We haven't achieved diversity of
the executives and then if you start

looking at other forms of diversity,
you know, black empowerment, ethnicity,

international representation, there's
still a heck of a lot of work to do to

really call our organisations to account.

Expert Insight

Despite significant gains in the past decade, women still hold only 20% of executive board positions in FTSE100 companies in the UK. Clearly, more needs to be done to improve gender equality in leadership roles.

In this must-watch video, Fiona Hathorn, CEO of Women on Boards UK, outlines why having more women in the boardroom is crucial and how to make it happen by challenging the traditional approach of personal networks, transparent advertising of board roles, and honest conversations about the benefits of diverse boards.