International Women’s Day 8 March 2019: Balance Reflections by Dr Linda S Spedding
This year the theme for the International Women’s Day is Balance. This sounds so easy yet it is an elusive goal for many! My mother, Daisy Spedding, showed me the way regarding the importance of balance during my childhood and as a young lawyer when she headed the care of many boarding school boys as matron, mentor and Head of Human Resources, as well as being a company Director! She is now 94. I believe she is someone who led the gender debate by example. She may indeed admit to the gender gap given her important responsibilities and her lack of real independent pay. Her role was substantial but sadly she was not valued appropriately.
I have since considered the ongoing debate as a priority in my life as an international lawyer and adviser. I have faced my own challenges to implement balance over the years when trying to establish my International practice without giving in to the haggling that I encounter purely because I am not part of a larger institution, especially as a woman. To maintain the balance in this gender debate is very complex: in my view it appears that it is not about common sense but rather about old habits dying hard. Diversity is a source of strength- it is not just good policy, it is also good business practice that can enable a competitive edge. Female and gender equality can indeed help all as we go through this life that is, in any case, a difficult journey in general. This also includes pay equality (see review below entitled Bridging the gender Pay Gap in Law Firms).
In the recent years there has been a shift in favour of Women on Boards and the US based organisation 2020 Women on Boards (WOB) has recognised the “W” winning companies for their commitment to gender diverse boards of directors. 2020 WOB is committed to increasing the percentage of women who serve on company boards to 20% or greater by the year 2020. “W” companies value the contributions women bring to the boardrooms by having 20% or more of their board seats held by women. For further information see the 2020 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Directory, a database that ranks the US’s leading businesses according to the number of women on their boards. The Gender Diversity Index (GDI) - a subset of the directory - tracks the progress for women on Boards among the Fortune 1000 companies. 2020 WOB educates corporate stakeholders on the importance of board diversity and promotes progressive companies as an example of good corporate governance. Moreover in California there has been legislation passed relating to the minimum number of female directors that must serve on the board of directors of each publicly held domestic or foreign corporation whose principal executive office is located in California. On January 1, 2019, Senate Bill No. 826 took effect and while legal challenges have been discussed it is probable that leaders in public companies will take steps to implement the law, at least for reputational reasons. With these requirements taking effect, California became the first US state to enact such legislation although there have been other mandatory requirements in other countries that have been commented on elsewhere.
I believe that gender diversity, which has been debated for many years in my experience, has obvious clear benefits globally. In addition to the Legal Sector, in the financial sector, by way of example, there is a real value and positive impact on corporate culture and reputation through gender diversity. Moreover there appears to be a reciprocal benefit for the executives who carry out board service as this experience can enhance their careers.The US statistical trend is positive. According to 2020 WOB it was reported that of the 2835 active Russell 3000 (R3000) companies, in 2018 women held 17.7% of the board seats, an increase from 16.0% in 2017 when there were 2871 active companies. In 2018, the percentage of women in the largest R100 companies was 25.3%; in the smaller R2001- 3000 companies it was 13.0%, reflecting that smaller companies are generally less diverse. The R 3000 Index is considered to serve as a building block for a broad range of financial products which include the large-cap R1000 and the small-cap R 2000. It is submitted that any such steps taken that support the important foundation of transparency can be helpful in creating lasting positive change that is valuable for all stakeholders.
The above represents the wider debate of society taking responsibility to make positive change in life. There is no doubt that we must take responsibility as individuals also for our lives and seek to achieve balance: this why I formed Balanced Lives: see www.balancedlives.info. I developed the acronym - Be Always Loving and Naturally Calm Everywhere - as a reminder as we struggle to manage or deal with the ups and downs of life, particularly as professionals or in business. Let us move forward together with positive intention to work collaboratively and to find fair solutions to enable upcoming generations to benefit and recognise the courage of our convictions.
I have since considered the ongoing debate as a priority in my life as an international lawyer and adviser. I have faced my own challenges to implement balance over the years when trying to establish my International practice without giving in to the haggling that I encounter purely because I am not part of a larger institution, especially as a woman. To maintain the balance in this gender debate is very complex: in my view it appears that it is not about common sense but rather about old habits dying hard. Diversity is a source of strength- it is not just good policy, it is also good business practice that can enable a competitive edge. Female and gender equality can indeed help all as we go through this life that is, in any case, a difficult journey in general. This also includes pay equality (see review below entitled Bridging the gender Pay Gap in Law Firms).
In the recent years there has been a shift in favour of Women on Boards and the US based organisation 2020 Women on Boards (WOB) has recognised the “W” winning companies for their commitment to gender diverse boards of directors. 2020 WOB is committed to increasing the percentage of women who serve on company boards to 20% or greater by the year 2020. “W” companies value the contributions women bring to the boardrooms by having 20% or more of their board seats held by women. For further information see the 2020 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Directory, a database that ranks the US’s leading businesses according to the number of women on their boards. The Gender Diversity Index (GDI) - a subset of the directory - tracks the progress for women on Boards among the Fortune 1000 companies. 2020 WOB educates corporate stakeholders on the importance of board diversity and promotes progressive companies as an example of good corporate governance. Moreover in California there has been legislation passed relating to the minimum number of female directors that must serve on the board of directors of each publicly held domestic or foreign corporation whose principal executive office is located in California. On January 1, 2019, Senate Bill No. 826 took effect and while legal challenges have been discussed it is probable that leaders in public companies will take steps to implement the law, at least for reputational reasons. With these requirements taking effect, California became the first US state to enact such legislation although there have been other mandatory requirements in other countries that have been commented on elsewhere.
I believe that gender diversity, which has been debated for many years in my experience, has obvious clear benefits globally. In addition to the Legal Sector, in the financial sector, by way of example, there is a real value and positive impact on corporate culture and reputation through gender diversity. Moreover there appears to be a reciprocal benefit for the executives who carry out board service as this experience can enhance their careers.The US statistical trend is positive. According to 2020 WOB it was reported that of the 2835 active Russell 3000 (R3000) companies, in 2018 women held 17.7% of the board seats, an increase from 16.0% in 2017 when there were 2871 active companies. In 2018, the percentage of women in the largest R100 companies was 25.3%; in the smaller R2001- 3000 companies it was 13.0%, reflecting that smaller companies are generally less diverse. The R 3000 Index is considered to serve as a building block for a broad range of financial products which include the large-cap R1000 and the small-cap R 2000. It is submitted that any such steps taken that support the important foundation of transparency can be helpful in creating lasting positive change that is valuable for all stakeholders.
The above represents the wider debate of society taking responsibility to make positive change in life. There is no doubt that we must take responsibility as individuals also for our lives and seek to achieve balance: this why I formed Balanced Lives: see www.balancedlives.info. I developed the acronym - Be Always Loving and Naturally Calm Everywhere - as a reminder as we struggle to manage or deal with the ups and downs of life, particularly as professionals or in business. Let us move forward together with positive intention to work collaboratively and to find fair solutions to enable upcoming generations to benefit and recognise the courage of our convictions.