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Issue No. CCXVI;\u00a0February 9,\u00a02014 THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS: I. HOW CEOS CAN SPEAK ABOUT GENDER DIVERSITY: KPMG UK REPORT<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Simon Collins, Chair of KPMG UK adds: \u201cCEOs need to talk about the issue from a personal perspective and authentically to win hearts and minds.\u00a0 Much has been written about the importance of leadership in driving change on gender parity but to date there has been little insight in to the specific contribution of the CEO.\u00a0 Something needs to change if we are to make better progress on diversity and this research makes it clear that the \u201csomething\u201d is how we as CEO\u2019s talk and act. Starting with ourselves gives our businesses \u2013 and the women in our workforces\u2013 the best possible chance of the legacy on gender diversity that as CEO\u2019s we say we want to leave, and that they so richly deserve.\u201d\u00a0 (Source:\u00a0\u00a0www.kpmg.com<\/a>, 1\/22\/14)<\/p>\n At this year\u2019s Global Summit of Women, five CEOs will explore precisely their roles in enabling their respective companies to implement more inclusive leadership \u2013 Michel Landel of Sodexo, Frederic Oudea of Societe Generale, Thierry Pilenko of Technip, Gianmarco Monsellato of Taj France and Sol Trujillo, former CEO of US West, Orange (France) and Telstra (Australia).\u00a0 (Go to\u00a0www.globewomen.org<\/a>\u00a0for more information on the 2014 Global Summit of Women.)<\/p>\n II. THE TECH WORLD’S ‘WOMAN PROBLEM’<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Now, its Apple\u2019s turn.\u00a0 Two major investment funds with holdings in the company, Trillium Asset Management and the Sustainability Group questioned why this technology juggernaut had only one woman on its Board, Andrea Jung, former Avon CEO, and \u00a0only one female senior executive, Angela Ahrendts, former Burberry CEO, reporting directly to Apple\u2019s CEO.\u00a0 After months of negotiations, Apple announced that it is adding language to its charter that it is \u201ccommitted to actively seeking out highly qualified women and individuals from minority groups to include in the pool from which board nominees are chosen.\u201d\u00a0 (Washington Post,\u00a0<\/em>1\/8\/14)<\/p>\n Hailed as an important first step, the question remains as to why the tech industry has such a paucity of women in its top ranks.\u00a0 Part of the answer lies in the fact that most board directors in this industry are investors, predominantly white males, resulting in 43% of Silicon Valley\u2019s top 150 companies having zero female board directors and 40% with only one women-held board seat.\u00a0 In comparison, the 98% of S&P100 companies have at least one female director and 70% have two or more.\u00a0 (www.businessinsider.com.au\/author\/LydiaMallett<\/a>)<\/p>\n PERCENTAGE OF SILICON VALLEY COMPANIES WITH\u00a0NUMBER OF WOMEN\u00a0BOARD DIRECTORS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n At the June 5-7, 2014 Global Summit of Women in Paris, a new report on the global status of women director will be released, and a Roundtable on Board Diversity will explore myriad initiatives from business and government in several countries to address gender equity on corporate boards.\u00a0 (For more information, log on to\u00a0www.globewomen.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n III.\u00a0NEW APPROACHES TO OPENING UP BOARDS FOR WOMEN<\/em> In Germany, two leading parties reached an agreement in November 2013 for all listed companies to have at least 30% women on their Supervisory Boards (the independent body equivalent to a Board of Directors in Germany\u2019s two-tiered corporate governance system) by 2016.\u00a0\u00a0 The agreement has put gender quotas as one of the top items on the agenda for the new government, which is expected to pass the legislation in the coming months. (Bloomberg Businessweek,\u00a0<\/em>12\/13\/13)<\/p>\n In the U.S., California has become the first state to pass a resolution urging all publicly-held companies in that state with nine or more directors to have at least three women on their boards by December 2016.\u00a0 Companies with five to eight members are urged to have at least two women, while those with fewer than five members should have at least one woman. (www.leginfo.ca.gov)\u00a0 This non-binding resolution cites the growing body of research concluding that companies perform better when they have women on boards.\u00a0\u00a0 It also came in the wake of Silicon Valley companies mentioned above having to be pressured to include female board directors.<\/p>\n California State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson sponsored a resolution to press companies to add female directors. Photo courtesy of the\u00a0Associated Press.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n IV. LEADING COUNTRIES OUT OF CONFLICT\u00a0& TURMOIL: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC’S AND LATVIA’S NEW LEADERS<\/em> A former Mayor of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, Catherine Samba-Panza, is the first woman to lead her nation, and it is her task to lead her country out of a sectarian civil war to national elections.\u00a0 She succeeds Michel Djotodia, who led a nine month reign of terror and was forced to resign by regional and western powers for allowing the civil war to fester, leaving a nation so fractured and on the edge of free fall.\u00a0 Cheers followed her defeating seven other candidates, including two sons of former presidents.\u00a0 \u201cEverything we have been through has been the fault of men.\u00a0 We think that with a woman, there is at least a ray of hope,\u201d stated Marie Louise Yakemba, a civil society leader who echoed everyone\u2019s sentiments.\u00a0(New York Times,\u00a0<\/em>1\/21\/14)<\/p>\n An economist and the current Minister of Agriculture, Ms. Straujuma\u2019s tenure will be even shorter than that of the President of the Central African Republic, as she leads her country to elections in October 2014.\u00a0 Until then, she needs to keep the economy on an even keel at the same time. (Wall Street Journal,\u00a0<\/em>1\/6\/14)\u00a0\u00a0 Roza Otunbayeva was also the interim President of Kyrgyzstan, which she successfully led to full elections, taking herself out of the running as she set up the infrastructure for a sustainable democracy.\u00a0\u00a0 The Global Summit of Women saluted her in 2012 for this feat and for showing another example of how women lead \u2013 not by trying to hold on to power as men do, but by giving it up for her people.\u00a0 (For an up-to-date listing of women Presidents and Prime Ministers, go to\u00a0www.globewomen.com<\/a>\u00a0and scroll down to listing with photos.)<\/p>\n Join 1,000 women coming to Paris at the REGISTER TODAY AT:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n WWW.GLOBEWOMEN.ORG<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Don’t receive this e-newsletter regularly?
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\n<\/u>I. HOW CEOS CAN SPEAK ABOUT GENDER DIVERSITY: KPMG UK REPORT
\n<\/em>II. THE TECH WORLD’S ‘WOMAN PROBLEM’
\n<\/em>III. NEW APPROACHES TO OPENING UP BOARDS FOR WOMEN
\nIV. LEADING COUNTRIES OUT OF CONFLICT\u00a0& TURMOIL: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC’S AND LATVIA’S NEW LEADERS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
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At last month\u2019s World Economic Forum, KPMG released a new report which indicated that CEOs need to reach beyond the business case argument for women in senior roles to drive diversity deeper into their organizations.\u00a0 CEOs often push for diversity due to the influence of strong women in their lives or other personal reasons.\u00a0 Yet, they tend to downplay the personal reasons and instead speak of the need for diversity primarily for the commercial or business benefits \u2013 that companies with more women in senior management and boards tend to have better financial performance based on numerous studies.<\/p>\n
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When Facebook was launching its IPO, a\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/em>\u00a0editorial questioned why it had an all-male Board when 58% of its users were women.\u00a0 After the company went public, COO Sheryl Sandberg was appointed to its Board.\u00a0 When Twitter announced its own IPO, a\u00a0New York Times\u00a0<\/em>reporter asked why its Board had no female directors since most of those who tweet are women.\u00a0 Soon afterwards, Marjorie Scardino, CEO of Pearson, was named to its Board.\u00a0 In both instances, these media questions were echoed by investor groups and women\u2019s organizations, which added to the external pressure for both companies to include a female director.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/globewomen.org\/globalsummit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/chart-svx-enews-300x255.png\")
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<\/strong>While Silicon Valley\u2019s tech companies may not be leading the way in placing women on boards, there are several initiatives recently undertaken by business and government to accelerate women\u2019s access to board seats.\u00a0\u00a0 In the U.K., where the government has threatened a quota if its largest companies — the FTSE 100 — do not reach 25% women directors by 2015, one company has taken a broader measure.\u00a0 Lloyds Banking Group announced in early February that it will ensure at least 40% of its top 5,000 positions are held by women by 2020.\u00a0 Lloyds is the first company to set an internal target higher than that set by peer companies, whose current percentage of female directors already bests many in the FTSE 100.\u00a0 (The Guardian,\u00a0<\/em>2\/2\/14)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/globewomen.org\/globalsummit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Hannah_Beth_Jackson_Ocean_Photo.jpg\")
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There is an old adage that says if you want to get something done, hire a woman.\u00a0 Well, two countries have done precisely that, in part, as a way out of emerging from troubled times.\u00a0 They are interim leaders, chosen not just as place holders but as keys to moving their countries forward.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/globewomen.org\/globalsummit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/17713321674_a4a0089de2_z-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a>The new Prime Minister of Latvia, Laimdota Straujuma, was also selected to form a new government and to bring stability to a country reeling from the sudden resignation of the former Prime Minister last November.\u00a0 Taking political responsibility for the sudden collapse of a supermarket roof, which killed 54 people and injured many more, the former PM\u2019s actions traumatized a country of 2 million people already shocked by this calamity.\u00a0 Ongoing investigations continue on the roof\u2019s collapse in the capital city of Riga.<\/p>\n
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\n2014 Global Summit of Women
\nJune\u00a05-7, 2014
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