MD of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland leads debate on ‘gender quotas’ at Tods Murray Women in Business event
With the possibility that the EU will impose “gender quotas” by 2011 unless one in five boardroom seats are filled by women, leading Scots business women will debate why there is a lack of female talent in top jobs. The debate will take place at legal firm Tods Murray’s Women in Business network, in Edinburgh on 21st October.
The event Women in the Boardroom: The Leadership Debate will be co-hosted by Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser.
Keynote speaker, Susan Rice, Managing Director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland will open proceedings by sharing her views on why women are underrepresented in the boardroom.
The first woman to head a UK clearing bank when appointed Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland in 2000, Susan will also draw on her extensive experience to offer some insight on the value women can add if they aspire to a place at the boardroom table.
Fiona Buchanan, a banking and finance partner at Tods Murray who will be chairing the debate, said:
“Scotland is well known for its pioneering businesses, for its strength in financial services, and for encouraging entrepreneurialism in all sectors. Against this active corporate setting, women comprise an increasing proportion of the workforce.
“It’s frustrating therefore to see that there are still so few women in the boardrooms of Scotland’s leading companies and organisations, both at executive and non-executive level – it seems as though the female talent has disappeared once you get to director level, or perhaps women are electing a different path.
“Our event is designed to open the discussion and give many of Scotland’s leading business women a voice in this important debate.”
To coincide with the event, Tods Murray and Marsh are currently surveying Scots businesswomen to find out their attitude to an imposed “quota” and their experience, or not, of a ‘glass ceiling’. All business women working in Scotland are eligible to complete the questionnaire until 6th October, with the findings published at the end of October www.todsmurray.com/leadershipdebate The findings will be presented alongside the latest studies into the impact of women in top level positions and may be viewed, after 21 October, on the Tods Murray website - www.todsmurray.com
Wendy Lamin, a Vice President in Marsh’s Financial Institutions Practice, added:
“Women will be very interested in the research, which will highlight the different perceptions of boards with and without women members. The findings are sure to provoke a lively debate about women’s participation at the highest levels of corporate life.”
To find out more about the event, visit www.todsmurray.com
Notes to Editor:
1. Tods Murray is a leading independent Scottish law firm, dedicated to providing first rate, innovative and commercially aware specialist advice to companies, institutions and organisations, within both the private and public sectors, and to families, individuals and charities.
2. Tods Murray has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow and has 37 partners of which 10 are women.
3. Marsh has over 24,000 employees and provides advice and transactional capabilities to clients in over 100 countries. Marsh is a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm with over 50,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue of $10 billion. MMC also is the parent company of Guy Carpenter, the risk and reinsurance specialist; Mercer, the provider of HR and related financial advice and services; and Oliver Wyman, the management consultancy. Its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago and London stock exchanges. MMC’s website address is www.mmc.com. Marsh’s Web site is www.marsh.com.
4. Viviane Reding, the EU’s fundamental rights commissioner, has issued an ultimatum that unless more board room seats are filled by women by the end of 2011, she will use new powers under the Lisbon Treaty to impose ‘gender quotas’. Germany has set a target for 20% of senior posts occupied by women by 2015; while Spanish law requires companies and publicly listed firms with more than 250 employees to apply a minimum 40% board room quota for women.
5. The Tods Murray “Women in Business” Network was set up in early 2007. The group meets regularly throughout the year in Edinburgh and Glasgow and has over 500 registered members.
6. For details of the Tods Murray "Women in Business" event on 21 October 2010 visit: www.todsmurray.com/womenintheboardroom