Gender diversity could take off if bonuses depended on it

Outlook

Women are less likely to be picked to steer companies out of any post-Brexit choppy waters, says N Brown chief executive Angela Spindler (AFP)

Much backslapping in the corporate and political worlds last week in the wake of Lord Davies’s latest report on the representation of women on the boards of British companies. Apparently the figures of 26.1 per cent in the FTSE 100 and 19.6 for the FTSE 250 are worthy of celebration. And there are “only” 16 all-male boards remaining in the latter. Hooray!

Spare me. The improvement since 2011 has been quick, but that’s simply a reflection on how bad things were before. And it is still the case that most new women directors are in non-executive roles.

But, what’s this? Virgin Money’s boss, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, has come up with a proposal for remuneration packages to be linked to targets for the number of women hired for senior positions. Executive positions, mind. The ones that really count.

Her suggestions are contained in a government-commissioned review of women in finance that is being published on Wednesday. Some of her ideas ought to be extended across corporate Britain.

I’ve written in support of quotas in the past – but linking greater diversity to bonuses? Given what motivates bosses, this is something that could bring about real, substantive and rapid change.