diversity

Governance Watch - Issue 62

Governance Watch - Issue 62

Sustainable Business, 2020

Every new year is a fresh start. And every fresh start is a golden opportunity for change. 2020 heralds many changes for the United Kingdom, including the finality of the process of leaving the European Union at the end of this month after a general election delivered a strong mandate for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But the issues that the UK – and the rest of the world – face around a climate emergency are inclusive for all, and so are the challenges facing large publicly listed businesses, wherever they happen to be. It’s a fast-changing world around technology and innovation, consumer empowerment, social identification and aspiration, and a younger generation claiming its future place based on its own values.

Governance Watch - Issue 61

Governance Watch - Issue 61

Ending 2019

As 2019 moves towards a close, there remain many questions as to where we are in the United Kingdom when it comes to redefining and living up to our standards of corporate governance, closely watched by the rest of the world. In the wake of a general election yielding a thumping Conservative majority, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has much to do in the weeks and months ahead.

 News of his victory and the ensuing market rally “added £33bn to UK shares” reported The Telegraph in its coverage right after the election. Sterling rallied as the markets caught a whiff of the end of years of uncertainty after the 2016 EU referendum vote. But, as news came that the UK government is to add a new clause to the Brexit bill to rule out any extension to the transition period beyond the end of next year, sterling fell. Uncertainty is not yet over, and there are long-term agreements yet to come around immigration, tariffs and more that affects everyday business decisions. There is also the need to stay attuned to corporate governance.

Governance Watch - Issue 60

Governance Watch - Issue 60

Gender Diversity: A Step-Change Is Needed

UK business is in danger of stalling on an uphill climb when it comes to the progression of women. Yes, there has been progress in the number of women to be found in boardrooms since targets were first set in 2011. It is progress achieved via investor pressure, closer scrutiny of the appointment process, a great deal of diversity evangelism and the use of public shaming via the media. It is also now painfully apparent that this was always a demand, and not a supply problem.

Now, according to the latest report on the state of play on gender progression from the government-backed Hampton-Alexander review, “a step change is needed for senior leadership roles below board level: 50% of all appointments next year need to go to women, or the 2020 target will not be met.”

Governance Watch - Issue 59

Governance Watch - Issue 59

Diversity Is Difference

“Ideas are not real estate” said Robert Rauschenberg, the American artist. I wish it held true in the business world. Because ideas are bought, sold and poached all the time, but they are still not shared enough together with experience and two-way learning and mentoring opportunities in collaboration towards a common goal. It might be a useful way of thinking about our approach in the UK in the drive for gender diversity and progression.

Governance Watch - Issue 58

Governance Watch - Issue 58

Diversity and Power

This week everyone in the United Kingdom was given an important lesson on the value of diversity in sorting out difficult issues.

As the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, with its first-ever female President Brenda (Lady) Hale, delivered a unanimous verdict around the unlawful prorogation of Parliament, history was made. The motto on Baroness Hale's coat of arms is ‘Omnia Feminae Aequissimae’: Women are equal to everything. She has been outspoken on the need for diversity in the judiciary.

 The ruling was on two legal challenges – one was brought by the businesswoman and Brexit legal campaigner Gina Miller, born to parents of Indian descent in what is now Guyana. In 2017, she was named the UK’s most influential black person and was also number 26 on the Asian power list of most influential British Asians.  

Governance Watch - Issue 56

Governance Watch - Issue 56

GDPR Bites

Investors might consider this to be a good time to invest in cyber security and cyber insurance, as it is clear that data breaches are about to become real and painful for business under the punitive powers of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. (GDPR). The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has signalled its intent to use the new law in force from May 25, 2018 which takes the previous maximum fine of £500,000 under the Data Protection Act 1998 into a new realm altogether – a maximum of 4% of a company’s annual global revenue.  

Governance Watch - Issue 55

Governance Watch - Issue 55

The Accountability Horizon

One of the most important and complicated issues in the quest for better corporate governance is having a sense of where accountability sits on the horizon of the strategic business plan. Short-term thinking still plagues many a listed business, as Deutsche Bank appears to have demonstrated. The Financial Times reported earlier this week that it is to set up a €50bn ‘bad bank’ as part of an overhaul. But if you look back over the last six years or more at the governance, you might wonder at what has been discussed for years in its boardrooms.

Governance Watch - Issue 52

Governance Watch - Issue 52

Change and Evolution

Beware the Ides of March, as they can prove to be treacherous. At a time when Britain appears ever more deeply mired in political stasis over the Brexit vote, we have also seen a steady roll-out of government reforms to improve corporate governance and the running of our businesses. The aim is to restore trust in business and its place in society, although ironically the Edelman Trust Barometer of 2019 shows that the British public trusts business far more than it trusts the government – as mentioned in the last Governance Watch.

If these reforms are now seen not to deliver real change, the threads of that trust will scatter on the chilly wind.

Celebrating 50 issues of Governance Watch

Celebrating 50 issues of Governance Watch

We’ve just celebrated our 50th issue of Governance Watch, written by Dina Medland and we’ve learnt many things from covering the news.  Governance Watch started as a simple idea – to give anyone involved with boardrooms, a place to read and digest the latest articles and headlines in one place. It’s important for people who shape corporate governance to consider the wider business landscape and to stay informed with events that may affect their decisions.

Governance Watch - Issue 50

Governance Watch - Issue 50

Diversity, Inclusion and Progression

We are more than half way into January, and when it comes to politics, the New Year feels very much like the old one. Facing multiple challenges around technological transformation, skills shortages and changing consumer aspirations, much of British business has been tearing its hair out on the uncertainty around Brexit for over two years. During that period the UK government has, in its pursuit of best practice and the lure of Britain for business and investment, taken many steps to raise the bar on corporate governance. 

Governance Watch - Issue 42

Governance Watch - Issue 42

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are essential for economic growth in a multi-cultural society. Many of Britain’s businesses are still struggling with this basic truth, trying to play catch-up with the urgency of the issue by shrouding it in definitions, and re-definitions. Should we call it diversity or should we call it inclusion? Actually, we need to put the two together with equality of opportunity via structural change, in the pursuit of better corporate governance and productive, responsible businesses.

Governance Watch - Issue 39

Governance Watch - Issue 39

Critical Data Deficit

The failure of many FTSE 100 businesses to capture and disclose key workforce data is providing an incomplete picture of key business indicators, according to research just out from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. It has looked at how workforce reporting has changed over the last five years and explores how transparent organisations are being about risks and opportunities relating to the workforce.

Governance Watch - Issue 37

Governance Watch - Issue 37

Social Value

In the current debate in the UK around how to achieve better corporate governance at a challenging time and amid changing business and workplace models in the face of technological transformation, there is a concept that is returning to the forefront - ‘social value.’ This week the UK government returned to the Social Value Act of 2013, extending its requirements in central government to ensure all major procurements explicitly evaluate social value where appropriate, rather than just ‘consider’ it. It comes after the Carillion collapse, which offers examples of the failure of governance on every level.

Governance Watch - Issue 8

Governance Watch - Issue 8

Cybersecurity and Diversity

UK plc boardrooms have displayed a tendency to treat the issue of cyber security a bit like a bad smell – ignore it and hope that it goes away quickly. But the unprecedented worldwide cyberattack last weekend that spanned 150 nations and infected over 200,000 computers has quickly made ‘ransomware’ an everyday word, and highlighted the need for cyber security to be at the top of every boardroom’s agenda.

Governance Watch - Issue 5

Governance Watch - Issue 5

Executive Pay

There has been no shortage of headlines screaming of shareholder and stakeholder concern around levels of executive pay at publicly listed businesses. This concern has also been reflected in the UK Government’s consultation on corporate governance reform, and the report from the Parliamentary Select Committee, just out.

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