IoD Ireland welcomes new Balance for Better Business report but says “more transparency and planned succession planning required for board appointments”.
The Institute of Directors in Ireland has today responded to the publication of the latest Government-backed Balance for Better Business report, which was officially launched this morning by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar.
Welcoming the latest report from the Balance for Better Business group, Maura Quinn, Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors in Ireland, commented:
“From a governance and board perspective, while there are both positives and demonstrable progress in this report, we are not seeing the pace of change we would like on the issue of gender diversity and boards. Board diversity – in all its forms - is not just ‘a nice to have’, it’s about being commercially effective. It allows the best mix of skills and expertise to be harnessed to drive long-term shareholder value and business growth. We need to address some of the barriers to more diversity in the boardroom, such as unconscious bias and less access for women to the same networks of contacts as men.
“A crucial point to make in this regard is that we need to ensure more transparent and planned succession planning and recruitment processes at board level. Our ‘Diversity in the Boardroom’ report last year found that only one-in-10 board members were appointed through an independent recruitment process. This leads to the reinforcement of the perception that board appointments are about personal contacts rather than selecting the best candidates.”
Maura Quinn added:
“The findings in this latest Balance for Better Business report validate the setting-up of this Government-backed initiative in the first instance. It proves once again that gender diversity in business in Ireland requires close and consistent monitoring.”
Read our Diversity in the Boardroom 2019 report.