2014 Egon Zehnder European Board Diversity Analysis: Giving Women More Board Leadership and Executive Roles

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Bloomberg – 2014 Egon Zehnder European Board Diversity Analysis: Giving Women More Board Leadership and Executive Roles

On 8 October 2014 Egon Zehnder released its 2014 European Board Diversity Analysis, the sixth in a series of biannual studies. According to the 2014 study, more than 20% of directors on large European company boards are now women, up from 15.6% two years ago, and from just 8% in 2004. However, despite significant gains with regard to board diversity, women have yet to attain a corresponding share of board leadership and executive roles. Only 2.6% of Europe’s board chairs are held by females and just 5.6% are female executive directors. “Plenty of work remains in identifying a wider pool of female board candidates, as well as retaining executive-level women and assuring their advancement within organizations so that there is ample readiness to pivot to the boardroom,” said Edwin Smelt, co-leader of the consultant’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Council, as reported by Bloomberg and other media. For the first time, the study included a global perspective, studying board diversity at an additional 568 companies from the rest of the world to benchmark progress made in Europe with global developments.
For further media coverage of the study, please see:

The Telegraph: Britain leads the way for women in the boardroom

The Guardian: Appointing women at senior level helps businesses, says Adnams’ first female executive director

Bloomberg: Female Board Membership Rises in Europe as Top Spots Remain Male

Forbes: Women Claim European Board Seats: Hold The Celebrations

Reuters: GDF shake-up promises breakthrough for French women in blue chips

Financial Times: Germany’s boardrooms lose female members

Management Today: Scandinavia leads women boards not female execs

Computerworlduk.com: UK leads on boardroom diversity, but still less than 10% of execs are women