The Institute of Directors (IoD ) in Ireland has welcomed the publication of the latest Government-backed Balance for Better Business report, which was officially launched this week by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar.
“Board diversity – in all its forms - is not just ‘a nice to have’, it’s about being commercially effective. It allows the best mix of skills and expertise to be harnessed to drive long-term shareholder value and business growth.
“We need to address some of the barriers to more diversity in the boardroom, such as poor succession planning, unconscious bias and less access for women to the same networks of contacts as men.
“The findings in this latest Balance for Better Business report validate the setting-up of this Government-backed initiative in the first instance. It proves once again that gender diversity, in particular, in business in Ireland, requires close and consistent monitoring.”
“It is important to note that more transparent and planned succession planning and recruitment processes are required at board level.
“In a survey the IoD conducted amongst business leaders recently, one third (34% ) of business leaders said their primary board does not have a succession plan in place to replace board members.
“This raises many flags, not least of which is the reality that a board with no succession plan is not future-proofing its business nor planning for board diversity, which is essential for an effective, high-performing board.
“Our survey also found that 45 percent of board members admit they were recruited as a result of a ‘direct approach from a member of the board/the board’ even though a clear majority (96 percent ) of the respondents believes that diversity is important when recruiting new board members.
“The fact is, some boards are still relying on old networks for recruitment, which is not good for diversity or for effective succession planning,” Maura Quinn, Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors in Ireland, commented.
