Without greater female representation on boards, we are losing out

The government’s LEP Review was published in July 2018 and revealed, unsurprisingly, the lack of female board representation on LEP boards. The doesn’t come as a huge shock. Companies and other organisations, such as LEPs, are constantly grappling with gender diversity.

What the LEP Review has done though is brought this issue into the spotlight and action needs to be taken. Without greater female representation on boards, I believe we are losing out; not only on an important source of talent but on a critically different perspective offered by female leaders. So, what can be done? To get more women serving on boards a proactive approach needs to be taken by both LEPs and female director candidates.

Thames Valley Berkshire LEP has welcomed the recommendations for fairer and appropriate representation on LEP boards. We continue to work with our partners locally to meet the requirement for 33% membership of female representatives through open recruitment and have recently appointed our 6^th female director. This now exceeds the target at 60%.

We are also proud to have been held as an exemplar at the first Women Leaders’ Roundtable hosted by The LEP Network on Tuesday 25 September and look forward to working alongside a host of inspiring female leaders to build more momentum around gender diversity. As a country we still have a way to go, but this is a good start.

Further information can be found on our Twitter page @TVBLEP

If you require a list of attendees to the Women Leaders’ Roundtable please contact Mike at The LEP Network mike@lepnetwork.net