Women on Boards in association with Protiviti have recently published their 2023 Hidden Talent report that reveals the executive expertise listed company boards are lacking in a study of over 1,000 firms across the FTSE All-Share and AIM listings.
New research by Women on Boards uncovers a very limited range of skills and expertise among executive board directors, which calls into question the diversity of thought in the boardroom.
Just 2% of executive directors hold positions other than CEO, CFO and Company Secretary. There is a further concentration in that small minority on COO or CTO roles, focused on operational efficiency.
The report also takes a ‘deep-dive’ into how boards are tackling ‘People and Culture’ concerns.
Over 80% of Women on Boards members surveyed believe it is a top-level or significant concern, but only 27% are directly engaging with executive experts at board level and 40% consider the quality of discussion on People and Culture in their boardroom to be weaker than on other topics. This suggests boards need to re-think how they tackle, what is, one of the most pressing issues facing organisations today.
Fiona Hathorn, CEO and co-founder of Women on Boards says,
“The responsibilities of the board have continued to evolve over the past decade and yet the focus remains on traditional skill sets such as finance, operations and CEO experience. Skills such as social responsibility, human resources or marketing, show negligible presence in the boardroom.”
To obtain a copy of the full report click on the link above.