Boards of Directors: Women, we want you

Since the implementation of gender quotas on boards of directors, major corporations have been increasingly calling on headhunters to find female talent.

It took a law, passed on January 20, 2010, for major corporations to suddenly discover an admiration for female qualities—so rare, so precious, and so on. Indeed, at the beginning of this year, the National Assembly adopted the bill introduced by Jean-François Copé and Marie-Jo Zimmermann, which mandates a 40% quota for women on the Board of Directors of listed companies within the next six years. This figure sent shivers through the CAC 40, which itself stands at 40. A powerful symbol! In fact, according to 2008 European Union statistics, France has only 9% female representation on boards, one of the worst scores in Europe, surpassed only by Belgium, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Greece. It lags far behind the industry leader, Norway, which records 41%—exactly in line with the standards.

In 2009, the French figure had risen by only one percentage point, reaching the 10% threshold. According to a survey conducted by the IFA (Institut français des administrateurs) and the EPWN (European Professional Women Network), five companies still had no women on their Board of Directors: Cap Gémini, EADS, STMicroelectronics, Vallourec, and Véolia environnement. Conversely, four companies had successfully surpassed the 20% mark: BNP Paribas at 28.5%, Michelin at 25%, L’Oréal at 21.4%, and Pernod Ricard at 21.4%. The same names continue to be cited: Anne Lauvergeon for Areva, Patricia Barbizet for Artemis, Laurence Parisot for Medef, and Virginie Morgon for Eurazeo.

There is, therefore, an urgent need in 2010 to reset the scales, as Marie-Jo Zimmermann’s calculations suggest that 1,350 female directors holding two mandates, or 555 holding five mandates, would need to be recruited.

Major corporations therefore scrambled to contact their top executive headhunters, demanding they find women to meet their diversity quotas at any cost. This led to the appointment of Bernadette Chirac to the LVMH board, replacing Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, the permanent secretary of the Académie française, who, despite being initially considered, had politely declined. With this appointment, Bernadette Chirac joined the only other woman serving on the board of the luxury leader, Delphine Arnault, daughter of CEO Bernard Arnault.

This certainly sparked widespread reaction and many questions regarding the appointment of Bernadette Chirac. ” *I have absolutely nothing against Ms. Chirac, nor against Ms. d’Encausse for that matter, but why choose women who are over 60?* “, asks Claire de Montaigu, Partner and Chair of the Management Board at the executive search firm Leaders Trust.

Others, however, followed with more established corporate backgrounds, such as Laurence Boone, Chief Economist at Barclays Capital France; Yseulys Costes, CEO and founder of 1000mercis.com, a company specializing in online marketing and advertising for the PPR group; Dutch national Jacqueline Tammenoms Bakker, former Director General of Transport and Civil Aviation in the Netherlands; Dominique Hériard-Dubreuil (Rémy-Cointreau) and Aliza Jabès (Nuxe) at Vivendi; and at AXA, Singaporean corporate lawyer Lee Suet-Fern. Also included within PPR are Caroline Puel, a journalist at Le Point, and Bulgarian Meglena Kuneva, who was in charge of consumer protection in Brussels during the first Barroso Commission; while BNP Paribas includes the former astronaut Claudie Haigneré, who joined Sanofi-Aventis.

This is proof that an all-out search was required to find women willing to accept, knowing that even the most prominent figures were not always eager to hold multiple mandates.

A serious reconsideration of the quota system is warranted. ” *There is a reversal of trends today; all large corporations are seeking female directors simply to comply with the law. However, I am against quotas; appointing a woman solely to meet a quota seems trivial to me. It would be much better to appoint them based on their merits: they are generally less prone to political spin than men, more candid, and more direct.* “, comments Catherine Euvrard, President of CE Consultants, an executive search firm. Perhaps it is time to finally recognize that while women can serve as the pillars of a company, just as they have long been the pillars of the family, they also possess immense creative potential.

It is a ” crucial feminine energy ” — a sentiment shared by Bruno Van Overtveld, MD of Development at the Stanton Wallace Group. *There will be a greater preference for recruiting female executives in consulting, information systems, for implementing strategies and organizational structures, and increasingly within service-oriented roles* “, he added.

With the growing need for more female leaders, major corporations have decided to take a proactive approach by preparing high-potential talent. ” *They are trying to increase women’s visibility and encourage them to network. They are helping them grow more within the company. I strongly identify with the 40-something generation—women who are self-assured and are not afraid to embrace their femininity while maintaining perfect professional excellence. This is a contrast to the 50-something generation, who sometimes felt they had to adopt more masculine or hardened personas just to defend themselves in a male-dominated environment.* “, analyzes Claire de Montaigu. Quota laws can appear artificial, potentially leading to tokenistic choices. This is undoubtedly partly true.

However, according to Damien Crequer, partner at the media-specialized firm Taste rh and member of “À compétence égale”—an association of recruitment firms dedicated to fighting hiring discrimination—” *These quotas act as a positive media catalyst, which could encourage the recruitment of women. It is true that gender parity has become a trending topic, but we are truly witnessing an increase in the influence of women within society. They tend to stifle their own ambitions from a very young age; there is a real difference in how girls and boys envision their futures. Furthermore, when they have children, they often exclude themselves from the competition for leadership positions. We must change how we perceive female career paths, making them more positive, and finally acknowledge that they are entirely compatible with a role on an executive committee.* »

The day when a candidate for a leadership position will no longer say with eager anticipation: ” *I have children, but that is not an issue; I manage my schedule very well.* » or variant: *but they are all grown up now* ” will undoubtedly be the hallmark of true progress.