Page 9 – 30% Club

Toxic workplace culture is not something unique to the CBI

Posted on April 28, 2023April 28, 2023 by Admin

Corporate culture is often said to be defined by the worst act you allow to take place in your organisation. What is alleged to have taken place at the CBI exposes the very real human cost of failure.

As global chair of the 30% Club, a campaign that advocates for representation of women on the boards of some of the world’s biggest companies, I am deeply concerned by the failures that have engulfed the CBI. Our thoughts are with the women who have been victimised and we stand with them in solidarity.

Our fear at the 30% Club is that the failings currently under investigation are not limited to the CBI. Last year, Randstad reported that 72 per cent of women working in technology, healthcare, education and construction said they had either encountered or witnessed inappropriate behaviour from male colleagues at work. And analysis by the Scottish TUC reported that 85 per cent of women said that their reporting and experience of sexual harassment in the workplace was not taken seriously and dealt with appropriately. What is alleged to have happened at the CBI is indicative of this very issue.

A toxic workplace culture is a significant factor in the continued under-representation of women in business leadership and why gender equality can so often feel like a distant goal. We may be close to 40 per cent women on boards across the FTSE 100, but there are just nine female chief executives. We need greater representation of women at the top. Women should be taken seriously at work. Women, and quite frankly everyone, should be safe at work.

Hanneke Smits
Global Chair, The 30% Club

Where we are

The 30% Club has come a long way from when it was set up in the UK in 2010.We now span six continents and more than 20 countries. We’re actively expanding into more G20 countries

“Power of data in the ESG space” konferencja Bloomberga i 30% Club Poland

Posted on April 19, 2023May 26, 2023 by 30club-Poland

Za nami II edycja konferencji Bloomberga i 30% Club Poland, w tym roku pod tytułem „Power of data in the ESG space”, bo skupiliśmy się na tematyce z perspektywy danych.

ESG to wciąż stosunkowo nowy temat, wypracowywane są dobre praktyki i standardy raportowania. Cieszy fakt, że nikt nie traktuje już ESG jako chwilową modę lub jedynie praktyki „nice to have”. Jest coraz więcej ekspertów w tej dziedzinie i od nich mogliśmy usłyszeć o wyzwaniach związanych z mierzeniem wybranych aspektów, gromadzeniem danych, ich analizą i interpretacją.

Katarzyna Szwarc, Pełnomocniczka Ministra Finansów ds. Strategii Rozwoju Rynku Kapitałowego przekonywała, że transformacja Polski w regionalne centrum zrównoważonych finansów jest okazją dla inwestorów. Kamil Liberacki, Dyrektor Departamentu Rozwoju Regulacji w KNF w rozmowie z Cinzią Chiriac Head of ESG Regulatory Affairs, Bloomberg zarysował obraz regulacji i apelował, że muszą nadążać za wyzwaniami klimatycznymi i społecznymi.

Usłyszeliśmy też od ekspertów z Bloomberga: Felicia Aminoff przedstawiła najnowszy research Bloomberg New Energy Finance o transformacji energetycznej w Polsce. Simon James oraz Bartosz Czekierda pokazali, jak można analizować dane ESG za pomocą terminala Bloomberga.

Na temat wyzwań w gromadzeniu i analizie danych ESG w panelu moderowanym przez Piotra Skolimowskiego, Warsaw Bureau Chief at Bloomberg News rozmawiali Robert Bohynik, CIO NN Investment Partners TFI, Piotr Dmuchowski, CIO PZU TFI, dr Jacek Dymowski, Małgorzata Kloka, Head of IR & Financial Strategy, Benefit Systems. Kryteria ESG stają się coraz ważniejsze przy podejmowaniu decyzji inwestycyjnych przez inwestorów, przy udzielaniu finansowania przez banki. ESG to element, na który coraz większą uwagę zwracają także inni interesariusze, np. pracownicy czy klienci, więc motywacja spółek by rozwijać ten obszar działania rośnie. Mimo że jakość danych ESG wciąż pozostawia wiele do życzenia, to standardy będą się podnosić, gdy firmy zrozumieją, że patrzenie na strategię biznesową także przez pryzmat ESG po się prostu opłaca!

W drugiej części skupiliśmy się na aspekcie różnorodności:

Aleksandra Włodarczyk, współzałożycielka 30% Club Poland zasypała danymi o różnorodności we władzach spółek w Polsce, również w obliczu nowych regulacji i pokazała, jak wprowadzać konieczne zmiany,
Robert Pasternak przedstawił Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index,
a na koniec wysłuchaliśmy dyskusji uczestników tego indeksu oraz przedstawicielki inwestora instytucjonalnego: Iza Rokicka, Director of IR, ING Bank Śląski, Arkadiusz Drzał, Head of Strategy and Development, Bank Pekao, Michał Knapik, D&I Senior Specialist, mBank opowiedzieli dlaczego ich firmy zdecydowały się dołączyć do Bloomberg GEI i jakie korzyści czerpią z uczestnictwa. Aneta McCoy, Asset Stewardship, State Street Global Advisors opowiedziała o presji ze strony inwestorów poprzez polityki głosowania oraz rozmowy ze spółkami.

Na koniec Peter Johnston, Head of Sales, Emerging Markets at Bloomberg podziękował gościom i podkreślił znaczenie współpracy Bloomberga i 30% Club Poland. Znów udało się nam wypełnić salę po brzegi, a zainteresowanie tematyką ESG nie maleje, więc mamy nadzieję, że widzimy się za rok!

Gender DEI at Workplace

Posted on April 6, 2023July 10, 2023 by 30club-Malaysia

Norlela Baharudin MIA,FCPA Aust,ICDM,TEFL our advocate and Executive Director at Berjaya Corporation Berhad spoke at a Gender DEI at the Workplace event where she shared challenges and lessons learnt.

The reality is there’s no overnight success as we battle biases and business-as-usual culture. Having female role models, allies and sponsors with influence help. It’s also the language, narratives and stories we tell that can help us re-imagine DEI possibilities.

Thank you to The Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Kuala Lumpur & Selangor and the Swedish Embassy Malaysia for inviting Lela to be a panelist.

Get Together Session with Mentees and Mentors

Posted on March 28, 2023May 30, 2023 by 30club-Malaysia

Networking is one of the three ways board-ready candidates can gain visibility in the Board mentoring journey.

With this in mind, the 30% Club Malaysia Board Mentoring Manager Norlela Baharudin recently organised an afternoon tea in Kuala Lumpur. The event saw the participation of some ten mentees – sharing and learning from our invited guest mentors of the Board Mentoring Scheme.

Reza Ghazali and Christina Foo were the guest mentors that were sharing some of the key competencies essential for boards namely strategic decision making, analytical skills and business acumen.

The mentors reminded the candidates to take a careful look at the industry and companies that they are interested to serve on boards before deciding on taking an appointment.

While sharing their experiences and learning from the guests, the mentees had the opportunity to meet fellow mentees and, some for the first time.

Oh yes! If you are wondering what is the other two ways to broaden ones reach and opportunities for board roles, they are:

– To learn from the experienced board members and
– To increase one’s visibility through platforms available on social
media.

How to Address the Underrepresentation of Women in Leadership

Posted on March 23, 2023September 21, 2023 by 30club-Canada

While progress has been made, women continue to face stereotypes, discrimination and bias at work that contribute to gaps in employment, wages and leadership positions

Experts on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace highlighted the barriers and opportunities facing women in the workplace for governance professionals across the country during a webinar hosted by the Diversity Institute (DI) and the Governance Professionals of Canada on Mar. 7, 2023 in celebration of International Women’s Day.

“Every International Women’s Day we have an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come and how far we have left to go,” said Wendy Cukier, founder and academic director of the Diversity Institute (DI), who led with a recap of DI research. While the wage gap is narrowing, women earn, on average, 87% of what men earn, Cukier said. That gap increases for racialized women (67%), Indigenous women (65%) and women with disabilities (54%).

Research conducted by DI shows that women remain underrepresented in board positions and in senior leadership—particularly in the corporate sector. The underrepresentation is even greater for racialized women. In the GTA, where one-half of the population is racialized, Cukier said white women outnumber racialized women 12:1 on corporate boards.

Cukier emphasized the importance of closing these gaps as a way to address some of the other barriers facing women at work, including gender-based discrimination, stereotyping and microaggressions.

‘When we think about boards, when we think about leadership, it signals who belongs,” Cukier said. “It shapes aspirations as well as stereotypes.”

Organizations can play a significant role in advancing a more diverse and inclusive workforce while breaking down the barriers facing women at work, Cukier said. One way to do that is by joining the 50 – 30 Challenge, external link and striving towards gender parity (50% women and non-binary people) and increased diversity (30% other equity-deserving groups) on boards and/or in senior leadership roles. As an ecosystem partner in the 50 – 30 Challenge, DI has developed a host of tools and resources to help organizations along their EDI journey, including The Micropedia of Microaggressions, external link (external link) and the What Works Toolkit, external link.

“We really need to recognize that organizations are part of an ecosystem. They are affected by societal forces but they could also change them,” Cukier said.

Jennifer Laidlaw, country head of the 30% Club Canada, led panelists in a discussion that delved further into the barriers facing women at work and strategies to address them. The discussion included Julie Cafley, executive director of Catalyst Canada; Rumeet Billan, CEO and owner of Women of Influence+; and Nadine Spencer, CEO of BrandEQ and the Black Business and Professional Association. Cukier outlined the status of women in the workplace and how organizations can address the underrepresentation of women—particularly those from other equity-deserving groups—in leadership.

“Good intentions are no longer enough.” – Julie Cafley, Executive Director of Catalyst Canada

As part of her work with Catalyst, Cafley has seen organizations placing EDI efforts at the center of their strategy. Yet research shows that 51% of racialized women have experienced racism at work, Cafley said. That number increases for women with darker skin tones, she added.

“If you want to see change, good intentions are no longer enough. You really need to drive change at a strategic level with metrics,” Cafley said.

Women who succeed in the workforce in spite of the barriers can still be attacked, resented, criticized or cut down for their achievements, Billan said. This is what her research defines as Tall Poppy Syndrome.

A worldwide study found nearly 87% of respondents experienced Tall Poppy Syndrome at work, Billan said. This has a considerable impact on how women show up at work and how they celebrate their successes, Billan said. It also affects the bottom line, with 75% of respondents agreeing that being “tall poppied” had an impact on their productivity at work.

Spencer underlined the need to understand how barriers and challenges can grow and compound for women of multiple marginalized identities.

“An intersectional lens is so important because it recognizes that individuals experience multiple forms of discrimination or disadvantage based on their intersecting identities—such as race, gender or economic status,” Spencer said.

Billan pointed out that while a particular board might be diverse, it might not be equitable or inclusive. “Yes, we want to invite everyone to the table but the question is, ‘What happens when they get there?’”

For Spencer, ongoing training and learning is key. We all have biases that perpetuate stereotypes and barriers facing women and other equity-deserving groups at work, Cafley said, so it is important to consistently try to identify and address them.

Panelists also agreed that women can benefit from sponsors who can vouch for them, celebrate their accomplishments and usher them into new networks.

„Thought Leadership” wydarzenie ACCA Poland i 30% Club Poland

Posted on March 17, 2023May 25, 2023 by 30club-Poland

16 marca 2023 roku jako 30% Club Poland mieliśmy wielką przyjemność współtworzyć wydarzenie „Thought Leadership” wraz z ACCA Polska, których celem było przedstawianie inspirujących liderów i liderek członkom i członkiniom ACCA Polska.

ACCA Polska jest instytucją wspierającą 30% Club Poland od startu kampanii w czerwcu 2021 roku. Członkinie ACCA Polska brały również udział w badaniu 30% Club Poland i UN Global Compact Network Poland „Niech nas usłyszą! Głos kobiet w korporacjach”, za co podczas wydarzenia serdecznie podziękowała im Agnieszka Jarosz, Dyrektor Zarządzająca ACCA Polska, Ukraina i kraje bałtyckie, która zainaugurowała wydarzenie.

Wydarzenie było również okazją do przedstawienia członkom i członkiniom ACCA Polska wyników raportu „Niech nas usłyszą! Głos kobiet w korporacjach” przez Milenę Olszewską-Miszuris, Co-Chair 30% Club Poland, która współtworzyła raport wraz z Aleksandrą Włodarczyk, Koordynatorką Kampanii oraz dr Anną Golec, Ambasadorką 30% Club Poland.

Kluczowym elementem spotkania była rozmowa Joanny Zakrzewskiej, szefowej Rady ACCA Polska z Dominiką Bettman, członkinią 30% Club Poland i Dyrektorką Generalną Microsoft Poland, znaną specjalistka ds. nowych technologii, autorką książki “Technologiczne Magnolie”, która:
– podzieliła się swoją wiedzą dotyczącą transformacji cyfrowej,
– opowiedziała jakie kompetencji będą istotne w przyszłości,
– przedstawiła swoje spostrzeżenia na temat włączającego przywództwa.

Dodatkowo, każda osoba uczestnicząca w wydarzeniu stacjonarnie otrzymała książkę Prelegentki wraz z dedykacją.

Wydarzenie odbyło się w formie hybrydowej. Część stacjonarna miała miejsce w WP Klubie w WP.PL, która od początku wspiera kampanię 30% Club Poland. Dodatkowo, wydarzenie było transmitowane na żywo i można je obejrzeć po rejestracji pod linkiem: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4119626/2F06FA835AED8A289DAD419BC38D47F6

Bardzo dziękujemy Damianowi Dembowczyk z ACCA Polska oraz Małgorzacie Żelazko, Iwecie Opolskiej i Renacie Neidrowskiej z 30% Club Poland za organizację tego inspirującego spotkania jak również wszystkim uczestnikom za wysoką frekwencję.

Gender balance almost achieved for ethnic minority directors

Posted on March 13, 2023March 13, 2023 by Admin

Across the FTSE 350, the numbers of ethnic minority directors are currently balanced almost equally between men and women, with 48% being women (47% in the FTSE 100, 48% in the FTSE 250).

The data emerged today from the latest update on the Parker Review – the business-led, UK government backed initiative that sets voluntary race equity targets for Britain PLC.

The 30% Club is proud to support the Parker Review with our own targets for the FTSE 350 to have at least one ethnic minority director or member of the executive committee by the end of 2023 and for half of those newly created seats to go to women of colour.

Today’s update also confirmed that 96 of the FTSE 100 had at least one ethnic minority director by the end of December 2022, up from 47% in 2016 and largely meeting the Parker Review’s initial target for Britain’s biggest companies.

Of course, a single ethnic minority director is just the start of the change we need to see and so it was encouraging to see that half of those FTSE 100 companies actually had more than one ethnic minority director by the end of last year.

But as we have seen in the gender diversity space, there is still so much to be done if true equity is to be achieved.

It remains the case that the vast majority of ethnic minority directors occupy non-executive roles. In the FTSE 100, for example, while the data revealed ethnic minority directors now account for 18% of all directorships, just six ethnic minority directors held a chair position, only seven were CEOs and nine were CFOs.

However, there are many practical things company leaders can do to bring about change from collecting more and better data to taking part in reverse mentoring.

For example, the 30% Club is helping organisations build on their commitment to race equity with our Leaders for Race Equity programme, run in partnership with the CBI’s Change the Race Ratio and Moving Ahead.

We match CEOs with ethnic minority executives from outside their organisations to learn from each other’s experiences and challenges while also attending working groups with their HR and D&I leads on topics ranging from data to AI to inform and improve corporate action on race equity.

We hope this initiative will help our CEO members deliver impactful leadership in race equity throughout their organisations to ensure a wide pipeline of diverse talent progressing and thriving right to the very top.

The Parker Review has set new targets for December 2027:

– Each FTSE 350 company will be asked to set a percentage target for senior management positions that will be occupied by ethnic minority executives in December 2027
– 50 of the UK’s largest private companies have been set the target of having at least one ethnic minority director on the main board by December 2027.
– Each company will also be asked to set a target for the percentage of ethnic minority executives within its senior management team

You can read more about the targets and access the rest of the Parker Review data by clicking the box below.

Where we are

The 30% Club has come a long way from when it was set up in the UK in 2010.We now span six continents and more than 20 countries. We’re actively expanding into more G20 countries

Celebrating International Women’s Day 2023 at Prince Court Medical Centre

Posted on March 8, 2023July 12, 2023 by 30club-Malaysia

In conjunction with the International Women’s Day 2023, the 30% Club Malaysia and Prince Court Medical Centre celebrated the event by hosting a series of talks presented by distinguished speakers and leading specialists.

The event featured an address by Ms. Cndy Choe, Chief Executive Officer of Prince Court Medical Centre, followed by Dato’ Ami Moris, Chair of 30% Club Malaysia and the day peaked with the Handover of Token of Appreciation and Photo Taking Session Ceremony.

Dr. Harjit Kaur, Consultant Breast & Endocrine Surgeon at Prince Court talked about on The Role of Breast Surgery in Women’s Health, followed by Dr Muhammad Azrif, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at Prince Court who talked about Cancer Facts for Women.

Let’s take a moment to recognise the countless women in healthcare and every other industries around the world who have made and continue to make a difference every single day.

Embrace Equity: Deepening DEI Conversation #5

Posted on March 7, 2023July 12, 2023 by 30club-Malaysia

Recently the 30% Club Malaysia celebrated the International Women’s Day by organising a panel discussion on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Conversation #5: Embrace Equity with speakers from Dutch Lady Milk Industries, Malaysian CSO-SDG Alliance, Khazanah Nasional, and Maybank Investment Banking Group.

Here is the recording of Session 1 about the E in Equity with Dr. Kishore Ravuri Jia Yaw Kiu, moderated by Ami Moris and host Farah Jaafar.

Here is the recording of Session 2 of our DEI Conversation with Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir Hasnita Hashim moderated by Raj Kumar Paramanathan, and hosted by Farah Jaafar, on Khazanah Nasional Berhad’s DEI ambitions, and the leadership journey of Dr Hasnita, a nuclear physics PhD graduate from Oxford, and Chair of Maybank Investment Banking Group, on breaking the glass ceiling.

Gender-balanced boards more likely to push for better company culture

Posted on March 7, 2023March 7, 2023 by Admin

What diversity delivers

The 30% Club, in partnership with board advisory specialists Lintstock, has today issued new qualitative analysis based on the engagement of male and female directors in 100 FTSE board reviews in a report titled Evidencing the Contribution of Gender Balance to Board Effectiveness.

The survey showcases the difference gender diversity makes to the running of corporate boards, with a significant finding that women are more likely than men to focus on emerging issues, notably company culture and employee development.

In addition, female directors were also more likely to offer criticism and recommendations for improvement on both their own performance and their business activities.

The past twenty years have irrevocably changed the way businesses think about board composition and the impact this has on decision-making, with a push for greater gender diversity at the forefront of this shift in perception.

Through examining the engagement of male and female directors in board reviews, this study illustrates how gender diversity contributes positively to board performance. The findings show that gender balance is no longer a question of fairness, but that of effectiveness.

Despite the increased focus on ethnic diversity, the analysis highlights there have yet to be any examples of boards truly grappling with diversity in its wider forms, with some mismatches occurring between diversity ambitions and boards’ actions.

By demonstrating the link between diversity and effective oversight, we hope that this study will renew the impetus of boards to go beyond the traditional candidate pool, to secure directors with a broader set of skills and backgrounds.

Other key findings…

– Female directors are more likely to identify the need for further board diversity in areas such as age, culture and social background
– Women are three times more likely to recommend greater ethnic diversity than their male colleagues
– Women engaged heavily on employee sentiment and culture and were over 50% more likely to serve as a designated non-executive director for engaging with the workforce – the most frequently adopted employee engagement mechanism
– Women were 50% more inclined to raise ESG performance as an area for improvement.

Hanneke Smits, global chair of the 30% Club and CEO of BNY Investment Management, said: “The findings further confirm that a more gender diverse group of board members will consider a greater variety of issues and ask a wider range of questions. Of particular importance in the report is the evidence that female board directors place a greater priority on hiring diverse teams and therefore increasing access to a broader pool of skills and experience.

“Against the backdrop of a challenging macro and geopolitical environment, it’s critical that companies harness the power of diverse talent at all levels of their organisation to succeed. At the 30% Club our focus is unwavering: diversity must remain on the board agenda and there is genuine progress to ensure current, and future, executive leadership teams better represent the society we live in.”

Neil Alderton, a partner at Lintstock, said: “Oversight of employees was becoming a headline concern for boards even before the upheaval of COVID-19 and findings from our study reveals that female board members are more than twice as likely as their male counterparts to identify the need to focus on people development and improving the diversity of the workforce.

“Better gender balance is not only a question of fairness – our findings show that it is also a matter of effectiveness. We see that diversity of gender contributes to diversity of thought around a number of board performance areas, broadening boards’ horizons and bolstering the support and challenge that directors are able to provide as a collective.”