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When the Davies Report first came out five years ago, the original target of 25% representation of
women on boards by 2015 was seen as a quite high bar. When I look back today, I feel proud of what
has collectively been achieved in hitting that target, but know that far more can be achieved. It would be
remiss of us to stagnate at this level, as the original aspiration was only ever part of a journey, meant to
raise our game and ambition for gender equality.
I am very aware that while the Boardroom was a highly visible platform to demonstrate tangible benefits
and success to start with, it was also perhaps the easier nut to crack. Though we cannot let up on
driving female representation on boards, the same level of effort should now be focused on the executive
pipeline and levels below. It is not one single person’s responsibility to drive this – the progress and
success achieved thus far has been because of the collaboration and efforts of a large number of people
and organizations which now needs to broaden further. For continued progress at pace, success should
be a result of consistent efforts of everyone rather than the exceptional efforts of some. A big part of this
is organizations monitoring and being transparent about data related to succession planning, promotions
and recruitment.
I would encourage women to consider having an executive and non-executive career on a parallel track.
There are an increasing number of innovative organizations out there that are making it very accessible for
women to have long term fulfilling careers and we must keep this momentum going.
MELANIE RICHARDS’ FOREWORD
Melanie Richards
Vice Chair, KPMG in the UK