LONDON: Glencore Xstrata plans to appoint a female board member by the end of the year, its chairman told shareholders yeserday, and rid itself of the dubious distinction of being the only British blue-chip company with an all-male board.
The mining and commodities-trading group and its chairman, Tony Hayward, have come under fire from some investors over its apparent failure to embrace the recommendations of a 2011 government report into the lack of diversity at the top of Britain’s leading companies.
The British government’s 2011 Davies Review set a target for all companies in the FTSE 100 index to have a quarter of their board positions held by women by 2015, stating that “inclusive and diverse boards are more likely to be effective boards, better able to understand their customers and stakeholders and to benefit from fresh perspectives, new ideas, vigorous challenge and broad experience”.
Though the review stopped short of advocating enforced quotas, the percentage of women board members at FTSE 100 companies had risen to 20.7 percent by March this year, from 12.5 percent in 2011.
When Chilean mining company Antofagasta appointed
Reuters
