Discussions on social media about quotas for women on boards have been rife over the past week following Germany passing a law requiring that corporate boards have 30% of their supervisory seats filled by women.
Some say well done Germany, this is definitely a step in the right direction, whilst others say, no, this is not the way to go.
Having quotas will force companies to take action to fill the c-suite with more women. But is forcing someone to do something they don't want to do the right way to go about doing it?
Quotas do not address the unconscious bias that exists
Just because there are women on the board doesn't automatically change the behaviour and it doesn't necessarily change the unconscious bias that exists. Women then run the danger of being used as tokens and boards complying out of tokenism to reach the targets rather than a shift in culture and attitudes.
Until this is changed, there will always be an issue and to effect deep rooted change, a multi faceted approach is needed.
One place where we need to start is with the way we raise our children so that they do not buy in to this unconscious bias that boys grow to be leaders and girls, well, they’re just girls.
We need to be mindful of the stories we tell our children, the stories that replay in their minds over and over again as they grow. We need to cease the over cooing of our girls, letting them believe that they are just meant to look pink and pretty. We need to ease off letting our boys hear these stories that we tell our girls and start modelling the behaviours we want them to be.
Having a baby does not switch off a woman’s brain
We need to remember that men are men and women are women and that our bodies have been designed differently for a reason. If procreation is to continue, women need to take time out to have babies, it’s a fact of life. However, it does not mean that once women have had their babies that they should have to give up any ideas of continuing to climb the corporate ladder and progress their careers if this is what they choose.
Women should be given the support needed whether this is by way of fathers playing a bigger part in child care or child care facilities being made accessible and affordable. Also, more working patterns and arrangements that support family life are needed and not the other way round.
Having a baby does not switch off a woman's brain. In fact, there are advantages to having women leaders who have had children. Ellen J Kullmen, CEO of US firm DuPont is reported to have said a few years ago that her experience as a parent helped her instil the discipline needed to bring her company through the recession.
The root cause needs to be addressed
Enforcing quotas does not address the unconscious bias that exists and addressing this is also needed as part of a multi faceted approach. Training in unconscious bias should form part of every organisation that has a significant imbalance of gender in the boardroom. The root cause needs to be addressed.
Despite the introduction so many years ago of legislation that is supposed to support equal rights for women, we still do not have equality. This is particularly so at the point of great influence and decision making and we still have a long way to go.
Have we let down the suffragettes who, over 100 years ago, fought so tirelessly to get us the right to vote? Perhaps we women have let them down by not pro actively taking over the baton, uniting and standing together as one to bring about change.
More women on boards means more role models
Because this issue is taking too long to address, it is with reluctance that I am swayed to the idea of quotas for women on boards. Having a swift infiltration of women in the boardroom means there will be more role models for up and coming aspiring women leaders.
Having more women in the boardroom can help to sway the beliefs of their male counterparts, not with their womanly wiles but by letting them experience firsthand that women are more than capable and equally deserve their seat at the table.
Having more women in the boardroom means that boards will be more reflective of the society they serve.
Why not go the whole hog?
Why stop at 30% though? Why not go the whole hog and aim for a figure that is more reflective of the proportion of women to men in the population?
There is a worry that having quotas means that people will not be appointed on their merit but chosen just to satisfy the requirement and make up the numbers. However with an unbiased, selection panel, this should not be an issue. How we ensure that selection panels remain unbiased could be cause for debate, but that is an issue for discussing another day.
Should there be quotas for gender equality in the boardroom? Do you agree with quotas or disagree? As someone who previously disagreed with quotas, I have come round to the notion that they are needed and should be in place, can you influence me otherwise?
Originally Published on LinkedIn