Women appointed to boards make them more colourful and beautiful?
Josef Ackerman, chief executive of Deutsche Bank and one of Europe's most prominent bankers said that more women should be appointed to top executive roles.
Hurrah! A call to raise female representation in the boardroom is welcome as in 2009 only 11.7 per cent of executive jobs in large European companies were female. Diversity at board level is not a feminist issue - failing to recruit from the widest possible talent pool is bad not only for the company but also for its investors and society at large. There is also a risk that a board with a narrow representation may also be blinkered or conformist in its strategy.
Deutsche Bank, the largest German bank by assets has only ever had one woman on its board - and that was fifteen years ago! So Mr. Ackerman's comments would be welcomed....if only he'd stopped there. Unfortunately he embellished his statement with the assertion that the appointment of more women into executive positions would make boards 'more colourful' and ' more beautiful' and thereby revealed just how far attitudes must change!
Mr. Ackerman's contract at Deutsche Bank expires in 2013 which means a board place is opening up - perhaps it is time to fill the gap with someone that sees the business case for challenging the status quo.
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