Out-Law News 1 min. read
19 Jun 2017, 3:52 pm
The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill (14-page / 287KB PDF) will apply to certain public bodies, colleges and Higher Education Institutions in Scotland, subject to the Bill receiving parliamentary approval.
Public bodies will have to take steps to encourage women to apply for non-executive positions if the legislation is approved by the Scottish parliament.
The legislation follows the Scottish Government's “50/50 by 2020” initiative, under which nearly 200 public, private and third-sector organisations have signed up voluntarily to improve gender balances on their boards.
A number of other initiatives are underway elsewhere with similar aims. Last week the Prudential Regulation Authority published plans which could require large UK insurers to promote board diversity.
Also in the UK, major banks including Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and RBS last year signed a government-backed charter committing to implementing the recommendations of a review of gender diversity at financial services firms, chaired by Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia.
Meanwhile last year the European Banking Authority called for additional measures to boost the number of women working at managerial level in European banking.
However back in 2012 a House of Lords Committee said introducing mandatory quotas for the number of women on boards would not address “the root causes of inequality”.
Scottish equalities secretary Angela Constance said addressing the under-representation of women was a priority for the government and gender-balanced boards led to better decision-making.
She added that public appointments would still be made on merit, but “by introducing this legal requirement, we will drive change across the public sector, improving recruitment methods and making organisations work harder to find the most talented men and women to sit on our public boards”.
Women currently account for 45% of ministerial appointments to public boards in Scotland.