Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58065
Headlines MBAs Want to Make an Impact Women Scarce Among U.K. Executives While women are achieving nonexecutive positions at a slow but steady pace in the U.K., the percentage of women in executive roles on boards is still miniscule in relation to the percent- age of women in the workforce, which hovers at 46 percent. That conclusion is presented by Cranfield School of Management in England in its 2006 report on women in the FTSE 100 (Financial Times and London Stock Exchange). According to the report, of the FTSE 100 companies, only 53 have women on their executive commit- tees, 30 have all-male committees, and the rest do not reveal their senior executive teams. The report indicates that even companies with good records in terms of female nonexecutive directors are still not addressing the lack of gender diver- sity in their senior executive com- mittees. Also troubling is the fact that the total number of female-held directorships is down from 121 in 2005 to 117 in 2006. Companies that do deploy women in key positions include AstraZeneca, which has four non- executive directors who are women, and British Airways, which has three. Lloyds TSB not only has a board that is 27 percent female, but 8 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 also has an executive committee that is 33 percent female. Thirty-three percent of the executive committee at Reuters are also women. Cranfield's Val Singh, co-author of the report, calls the figures disap- pointing, but she also notes that changes in board composition have recently created tougher compe- tition for fewer executive seats. Co-author Sue Vinnicombe looks on the bright side by pointing to the pool of women on the boards and senior executive committees of the FTSE 250 companies. "The challenge is how to connect these talented women to the many chair- men who are actively looking for high-quality women to join their boards," she says. Peace Prize for Microfinance The Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 has gone to former eco- nomics professor Muhammad Yunus and the microfinance bank he founded, Grameen Bank, for their efforts to spur economic and social development at the bottom of the pyramid. The announcement was made in October, and the award was formally presented in December. Yunus and Grameen, both based in Bangladesh, have spent the past 30 years battling poverty by securing micro- finance entrepreneurial loans for the poorest of people, mostly women. Last fall, Yunus was granted the title of HEC Professor Honoris Causa from HEC School of Management in Paris. He also participated in HEC's conference, "Microcredit: a road toward a world without poverty." The majority of today's MBA students are interested in working at companies that demonstrate a commitment to corporate social responsibility; and while they're in school, they hope to learn about CSR, international development, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship. Those are among the findings of an online survey conducted by Net Impact, a nonprofit student leadership group dedicated to social and environmen- tal business issues. The organization has more than 130 chapters on four continents. The group surveyed more than 2,000 MBA students—37 percent who are Net Impact members, 38 percent who would consider joining, and 25 percent who are not inter- ested in joining. While those who are or might become Net Impact members tended to show a greater commitment to issues of CSR, even nonmembers showed high interest in the topic. When asked if, at some point during their careers, they will SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES