City Women's Network, London

July 2008 - International Perspective on Women on Boards

Apart from a few notable exceptions, progress on women being appointed to Boards of the top 300 European companies remains glacially slow. That was the message from Mirella Visser, the President of the European Professional Women's Network (EuropeanPWN) at our 16 July event held at the Pinner's Hall premises of the British Bankers' Association.

Mirella presented the findings of the third edition of the EuropeanPWN BoardWomen Monitor, designed and run by the EuropeanPWN and Egon Zehnder International in partnership with BoardEx. The bi-annual survey tracks the number of women on boards of Europe's top companies, seeking to provide reliable data on the progress of female representation by country, by industry and by company.

Detailed findings can be found on the EuropeanPWN website, www.europeanpwn.net, - follow 'Women on Boards'. Among the highlights of the survey were the revelations that only one out of ten board members is female; the front runners in Scandinavia are improving their performance whereas the rest of Europe remains at a standstill, widening the gap between the 17 countries; and there is more evidence of international diversity than gender diversity.

Out of a total of 5,146 board seats in the surveyed companies, women occupy only 501. The overall figure has risen marginally from the previous survey but the pace remains slow. There is still a significant divide between different countries, with Scandinavian countries continuing to outperform the rest of Europe. In particular, Norway shows an impressive growth in the number of women on boards as a result of quota legislation.

The Netherlands has also improved its performance, reaping the benefits of many private initiatives and press attention on the issue of women on boards. The UK remains at a standstill, as do Italy, Portugal, Greece, Spain and Switzerland.

Whereas the track record on numbers remains dismal, the survey shows that companies score better on international diversity. There were more women from different nationalities on the boards than that of the company's headquarters. The exception is Norway - compared with the nearly 25 per cent figure for Europe, less than 3 per cent of women board members in Norway come from a different country. This is largely due to the emphasis by Norway to find and develop local female talent.

From the lively discussion that followed Mirella's presentation, it was clear that the topic of female representation on boards was close to the heart of the CWN members at the event. It sparked off questions and ideas around quotas as a way to accelerate growth of women on boards, the reasons behind national differences, the comparisons between the private and public sectors and the ways in which women can further influence decision-making at the corporate board level.

Surinder Hundal




	Home Home Contact us About CWN Who we are Members' testimonials Board profiles Committees How to join FAQs Events Forthcoming events Past events 30th anniversary Media Press releases Media coverage Connections Links Members How to join FAQs Partners	July 2008 - International Perspective on Women on Boards Apart from a few notable exceptions, progress on women being appointed to Boards of the top 300 European companies remains glacially slow. That was the message from Mirella Visser, the President of the European Professional Women's Network (EuropeanPWN) at our 16 July event held at the Pinner's Hall premises of the British Bankers' Association. Mirella presented the findings of the third edition of the EuropeanPWN BoardWomen Monitor, designed and run by the EuropeanPWN and Egon Zehnder International in partnership with BoardEx. The bi-annual survey tracks the number of women on boards of Europe's top companies, seeking to provide reliable data on the progress of female representation by country, by industry and by company. Detailed findings can be found on the EuropeanPWN website, www.europeanpwn.net, - follow 'Women on Boards'. Among the highlights of the survey were the revelations that only one out of ten board members is female; the front runners in Scandinavia are improving their performance whereas the rest of Europe remains at a standstill, widening the gap between the 17 countries; and there is more evidence of international diversity than gender diversity. Out of a total of 5,146 board seats in the surveyed companies, women occupy only 501. The overall figure has risen marginally from the previous survey but the pace remains slow. There is still a significant divide between different countries, with Scandinavian countries continuing to outperform the rest of Europe. In particular, Norway shows an impressive growth in the number of women on boards as a result of quota legislation. The Netherlands has also improved its performance, reaping the benefits of many private initiatives and press attention on the issue of women on boards. The UK remains at a standstill, as do Italy, Portugal, Greece, Spain and Switzerland. Whereas the track record on numbers remains dismal, the survey shows that companies score better on international diversity. There were more women from different nationalities on the boards than that of the company's headquarters. The exception is Norway - compared with the nearly 25 per cent figure for Europe, less than 3 per cent of women board members in Norway come from a different country. This is largely due to the emphasis by Norway to find and develop local female talent. From the lively discussion that followed Mirella's presentation, it was clear that the topic of female representation on boards was close to the heart of the CWN members at the event. It sparked off questions and ideas around quotas as a way to accelerate growth of women on boards, the reasons behind national differences, the comparisons between the private and public sectors and the ways in which women can further influence decision-making at the corporate board level. Surinder Hundal Back to Past events


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