Vedtag fra Erhvervsstyrelsen om kønsdiversitet på flere ledelsesniveauer trådte i kraft d. 1/1 2023. Det betyder skærpede regler for krav om måltal og politikker for kønsdiversitet i danske virksomheder.
De nye regler omfatter 2.387 store virksomheder, statslige virksomheder (herunder aktieselskaber) samt børsnoterede aktieselskaber (+313m DKK omsætning, +250 heltidsansatte, +156m DKK balancesum). Her er det nye mål for kønsneutrale virksomheder, af erhvervsstyrelsen, defineret som en 40/60 fordeling efter de juridisk bestemte køn.
Det er dermed heller ikke længere nok for moderselskabet at opstille måltal og politikker på baggrund af hele koncernen. Såfremt datterselskabet selv er omfattet af reglerne, skal disse opstille egne måltal og politikker, der skal sikre en kønsneutral ledelse fra øverste ledelseslag og to lag ned.
I samme anledning, foretages der en ændring i årsregnskabslovens § 99 b, hvor virksomheder der er omfattet af reglerne, fremadrettet skal angive statistik om nuværende kønsfordeling, måltal og politikker samt status på opfyldelsen af disse i ledelsesberetningen.
Nye tal fra Analyse & Tal viser, at 44% af bestyrelserne udelukkende består af mænd, hvor det kun er hvert femte bestyrelsesmedlem der er kvinde og hvert tiende bestyrelsesformand der er kvinde. Det betyder med andre ord, at knap halvdelen af Danmarks store virksomheder ingen kvinder har i bestyrelsen.
Hos Friisberg & Partners International har vi altid haft diversitet og softskills i sigtekornet i jagten på talent. Det stammer fra, at vi er en organisation med fokus på DEI, og at 60% af vores Man. Partner på verdensplan er kvinder. Vores grundholdning er at de bedst performende teams i et globaliseret marked, er dem med forskellige holdninger, perspektiver og kulturelle baggrunde. I 2022 har vi hos Friisberg & Partners Int. Denmark sourced lige knap 900 kandidater, hvoraf kønsfordelingen har været 50/50. Yderligere har vi i disse stillinger på topledelsesniveau placeret 45% kvinder og 55% mænd, hvilket bevidner om at vi gerne vil gå forrest, når det handler om at diversificere vores kunders talent pool.
Vi har på vores nylige 117’ende konference og dertilhørende Diversity Debate i København, bl.a. diskuteret; Hvordan virksomhederne selv kan fjerne barrierer, der hindrer kvinder i at søge topstillinger. Her er 3 overbevisende fund:
Yderligere, hvordan vi kan sikre at vores kunder bliver bedre til at tiltrække kvindeligt talent, nemlig gennem;
Som en del af et Europas ældste executive search firmaer, har vi i Friisberg & Partners International Denmark, redskaberne der skal til for proaktivt at hjælpe jeres virksomhed med at fremme diversiteten på ledelses og bestyrelsesniveau. Det foregår gennem at arbejde med realistiske indsatser for at udarbejde politikker, måltal og for at tiltrække diversificeret talent. Er din virksomhed blandt de 90% som har underrepræsentation af kvinder og ønsker I at ændre dette? Vi tør godt gå forrest, tør i?
Se vores udvalg af services på: https://friisberg.com/services/
Appendix:
https://www.scielo.br/j/cebape/a/WPJBgkq5ByTv7y9ZVsjBp5w/?lang=en&format=pdf
https://friisberg.com/balanced-boards-2/
https://www.ft.dk/samling/20211/lovforslag/L117/baggrund.htm
If you decide to recruit Board members on your own instead of turning to a professional executive firm, it will result in lost opportunities and lower turnover.
Furthermore, it is not enough simply to elect Board members and a Chair, based solely on their professional competences. It is often overlooked, but far more important, can be the personal competencies that the headhunter puts into sharp focus.
An analysis from the Centre for Corporate Governance at Copenhagen Business School indicates that companies can increase revenue by between 25-40% by having a diverse and professional Board. However, about half of the Boards in Denmark are occupied by family members - and that is an issue. The human nature of the owners is governed by the power of habit and the aspect that it is difficult to replace oneself or a family member. That is why we see Boards that are characterized by:
In recent years, we, Friisberg & Partners International Denmark, have experienced a greater interest from companies, who acknowledged that a professional Board can be a competent and strategic tool to increase the growth and development of a firm. The increased interest is supported, among others, by external advisors such as EY, who through their workshops and dialogues assure the owners about the advantages of having non-familial members on the Board.
When an owner has decided to strengthen the Board or when a current Board member quits, we are contacted to ensure the circle of potential candidates becomes wider and more diverse. The owner has often given some consideration to which professional competencies the company should have replaced in the Board of Directors. Typically, these competencies reflect the stand of the current situation of the company and partly the qualities and competencies the outgoing Board member possessed, and which are now to be replaced.
Having the Board’s professional competencies described is one of the prerequisites for any successful Board recruitment. The Board’s competence descriptions contribute positively to an overview of which competencies the Board possesses and which are desired in the future. However, this alone is not enough to achieve the successful recruitment of a new Chair or a new Board member. There are many different perceptions of what it takes for a Board to create value and therefore it is important to clarify what kind of value creation is needed – and in addition to this, to understand the human side of Board work.
We are of the opinion that effective Board work takes place in the interaction between different people. It is simply not just the interaction in the Boardroom that is significant. The dialogue with management, employees, local business partners, authorities, costumers, and suppliers etc. further contributes to the positive dialogue and the value creation. So, one is the professional skills such as financial literacy – another is the personal competencies which are most often overruled in the recruitment for a new Board member.
We work with six key competencies that the Board Chair or member must have to create value. Often, a Chair of the Board is elected from the existing Board, therefore the Chair's competencies are advantageous for all members of the Board.
The prerequisite for a good working relationship requires that one can speak the language and appreciate the concerns of management that every CEO faces. Moreover, having a sharp business judgement, deep understanding of the company’s strategy, how it operates and the human issues.
Many members are very adamant in their opinions, and it requires a special competence to be able to listen, understand and read between the lines when other members argue their positions. In addition, to be able to listen to, understand and support a CEO when the person expresses a reservation towards the Board’s decisions.
We have seen Boards where there are many strong personalities = alpha males/females (it can be both men and women), who are used to being top manager and thereby take their “director” behaviour into the boardroom. It inhibits the good, constructive, and idea-generating dialogue. Therefore, it is an important competence to hold back and to support that everyone around the table has their say.
It is incredibly important to have the ability to establish relationships and to be able to work with the DNA that the specific Board and management have. It should be easy and safe for the CEO to approach the Chair of the Board and have a confidential conversation.
The candidates of the Board of Directors must be in a place in life where they are in balance. That is where they have or have been successful in their careers and where they have no need to become No.1 or feel that they have yet to achieve a top position - that is, not dreaming of taking over the CEO’s office or longing for operational control. It is a high sense of self-worth, a “commitment” for the good of the company, without a trace of a personal agenda, which is something we especially ask about during the recruitment.
It is necessary to uncover how much time the Board member is ready to spend on Board work. It is far from certain that it is “merely” four meetings a year. There can easily be situations where the meeting frequency will be much greater, and you must be ready to spend the necessary time between meetings. Emergency situations can always arise where a Chair of the Board or the entire Board of Directors must step in at short notice. It can be crisis situations, and in such times, it is the personal perseverance and drive to overcome a crisis that is essential. All things considered, it is especially the ability to confront these stressful situations and to avoid the organization becoming paralyzed, if they occur, that is central.
Susanne Becker Mikkelsen,
Partner Denmark
Norway currently tops the European statistics for gender-balanced corporate governance, with France and the UK in second and third places. (Source: Gender Diversity Index, europeanwomenonboards.eu).
Many factors explain why Norway has made great strides with equal opportunities, and gender quotas for company boards is one. Despite the progress, however, the Norwegian labour market remains very divided along gender lines. Four out of every five CEOs is a man – and nine out of 10 nurses are women.
Gender quotas on public-sector boards were introduced to Norway in 2004, and extended to private companies planning for a stock market listing (public limited companies) two years later. The requirement was that women should hold a minimum of 40 per cent of board seats, with companies which failed to meet this proportion threatened with being wound up.
Owner perspective
Norway has many small family-owned businesses. A majority of these belong to men. As a major owner, the Norwegian state also makes a clear mark on the domestic scene. Directors are almost always non-executive and largely independent of the company’s management.
Trust between owners and directors is important. Historically, owners have chosen directors from within their own network, since it is easier to trust people you already know. These networks are homogenous. Boards drawn from them generally work effectively, but risk missing out on important perspectives.
The 40% women requirement has increased the awareness of the expertise desired and the contributions directors make. This is considered a very positive consequence of the quota regulations.
Megatrends
The need for renewable energy, for example, has shifted huge investments from coal and oil to solar and wind power. Digitalisation has created radical changes in companies' development and the competitive position and will continue to affect all sectors.
Major changes call for non-traditional thinking, and curiosity about how other sectors overcome their challenges is particularly important along with a sense of urgency and solid understanding of financial risk. Having directors of both genders as well as different ages and backgrounds – nationally and internationally and from various sectors – will be necessary in order to widen perspectives and make the right strategic choices.
Female boardroom candidates
Holding a directorship is not a right, but an opportunity to contribute required expertise. During the first few years with gender quotas, we saw some poor solutions – female directors with a combination of high self-confidence and low relevant expertise, and enterprises which invited women on in order to fill their “quota” without wanting them to make an active contribution. Such things are rarely seen today.
Generally speaking, bottom-line responsibility and thereby executive experience are necessary to contribute effectively on a board. Norway has far more men than women in leadership roles, which means that the pool of female candidates with relevant experience remains smaller than for men.
But big variations exist between sectors. So, when putting together capable boards which also meet the need for gender balance, an overall view must be taken of expertise and efforts are needed to identify where scope exists for a good selection base.
“Younger” sectors, such as technology, media and telecom, have a more balanced gender distribution and thereby more women with solid management experience who amply provide the expertise required of a director. This contrasts with traditional industry, for example, where the pool of women with similar management expertise remains smaller.
Win-Win
Good boardroom contributions emerge from relevant expertise, strategic insight, understanding of roles, commitment and a personality able to exert influence and collaborate.
Some people argue that being “quota'd in” is unequivocally negative, and that quotas weaken the authority of women on the boards. We believe gender quotas ensure that highly competent women are invited to serve and give able females opportunities to contribute. If the starting point has been that male owners chose directors from networks of friends and acquaintances, the quota system has been both a necessary and an effective tool for ensuring diversity. We argue that it also ensures the best possible value creation.
In our experience, the quota rules have contributed to owners adopting a more analytic approach in assessing the board’s overall expertise and contribution. The requirement for 40 per cent women has thereby definitively made owners aware of able female directors. Our hypothesis is that the boards also end up with more capable male members.
Hild Kinder
Benedikte Stiff
Partners, Norway
Atila Yenisen, CEO of Metro Bulgaria.
Reducing gender inequalities is one of the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to transform our world and the topic about the role of women in business is becoming increasingly relevant today.
Atila is highly engaged regarding the role of women in business and is an active member in LEAD Network as Co-Chair in the Sales & Buying chapter where he is actively involved in projects aimed at increasing the influence of women in trade.
Our industry is very dynamic and consumer behaviours are continuously changing and evolving. Real success comes from not only following the customers, but also from shaping their choices. It is therefore paramount to have the diversity of the market reflected into our decision-making processes - only then we can move where the customers move and even move the customers towards our solutions.
We have set targets at a local level within Bulgaria. We have a minimum of 50% women in our development programs and at least 50% of candidates interviewed for Level 3 and up positions are women. This helps us to manage our pipeline for all the levels in our organization including for leadership positions.
According to a global survey on the topic, having children was stated as the biggest challenge for female colleagues. We know that over half of mothers change jobs, over 30% contemplate leaving work entirely and nearly 20 % of women leave employment in the following 5 years after their child’s birth. Therefore, we decided to focus our maternity policy to help women not to disconnect during their maternity leave which then helps them to restart effectively when they choose to rejoin.
In METRO Bulgaria we also initiated the Women in trade chapter within the company. The aim was to promote awareness as well as engaging with teams giving them the opportunity to drive decisions. We have already 26 employees involved in the project. We are also in the process of adapting our Global Diversity and Inclusion training.
I believe the role of leaders, regardless of their gender, is critical. Leaders set the context, they set the tone and they set the norms of culture. However, considering the male dominance in leadership positions, it is vitally important to actively engage men with diversity and inclusion.
The first step is increasing their awareness that diversity undoubtedly improves results. However, I would suggest we avoid only focusing on women and men, but more on real diversity including sexual orientation, religious and political views, as well as all cultures.
I can count numerous qualities of a good leader. However, let me highlight the three most important in my opinion:
1. Self-belief: everything starts with confidence.
2. Assertiveness: a good leader should not easily give up.
3. Persistence: very few initiatives elicit good results at the first attempt and only the ones who try again and again make a difference.
We are delighted to observe that nearly 37% of our business customers are owned by women.
The biggest challenge for women business owners is to multitask. I have hard time believing that all women actually delegate all their historical responsibilities to men. So, managing everything can be quite a challenging task. When it comes to managing their businesses, just like their male counterparts, there are many different areas about which they need more knowledge and support such as the legal requirements, fiscal rules, quality standards and measures etc.
I have been part of LEAD for the last 5 years. My colleague Tanya was already part of it and invited me to join. I have been actively participating as a mentor for female leaders from different industries, companies and geographies. Being a mentor in this network has enabled me to appreciate different perspectives and realities which have subsequently shaped my opinions. This year I have also agreed to be the Co-Chair of a new Chapter which is called the “Sales & Buying Chapter”. Its mission is to equip emerging female leaders in Retail and FMCG with expertise, confidence and international exposure. It is a very exciting role in a very interesting chapter.
I would like to invite women from the Procurement and Category management fields to join our sector. These roles are both challenging and strategic, requiring analytical skills. In the current circumstances the growth opportunities in organizations are bigger.
My most important advice to women in trade is to believe in yourself, follow your dreams and things will work out in the best possible way!
Photograph: dnevik.bg
Interview: Nevena Nikolova, Partner, Friisberg & Partners Bulgaria
Yellow Eve, a newly-launched magazine for equality-driven career women, featured an article by Friisberg Partner, Lorri Lowe.
Friisberg Denmark recently hosted the "Gå-Hjem Møde" at its offices in Copenhagen, in cooperation with Dreams & Details Academy, on the new requirements for boards.
Together, we offered interesting insights, including a presentation from Jim Hagemann Snabe, which prompted much discussion amongst our guests.
Topics such as the need for boards to reinvent themselves and the constant need for new and up-to-date competences were discussed.
Susanne Becker Mikkelsen thanks everyone for attending, and for making it such an exciting, valuable and enjoyable evening!
