The 2012 Board of Directors Survey conducted by global membership organisation WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD), executive consulting firm Heidrick and Struggles and independent researcher Deborah Bell details the governance practices, strategic priorities and views on their own boards' strengths and weaknesses of more than 1,000 directors from around the world.
Just over half the women directors surveyed (51%) believe that quotas are an effective tool for increasing diversity in the boardroom, but only 25% of men agreed.
This pattern was repeated when directors were asked whether they personally supported boardroom quotas. Some 39% of women and 18% of men do support them. Vice chairperson and co-managing partner of Heidrick and Struggles, Bonnie Gwin said: "Board quotas remain an important topic, as some countries seek to legislate diversity."
She added: "We see from these numbers that quotas don't garner overwhelming support, even from women directors."
The study also showed a disagreement on the reasons why women are underrepresented on boards. Almost half (45%) of men, as opposed to 18% of women, believed that the lack of women in executive ranks is the primary reason that the percentage of women on boards isn't increasing. As the top reason why there were not more women on boards, women respondents stated: "traditional networks tend to be male-orientated."
Co-founder and co-chair of WCD, Susan Stautberg, said: "There is a clear perception gap when it comes to evaluating how the still predominantly male business networks impact on the number of women on boards."
She added: "Women see a need to develop the kinds of networks that have historically been the path to directorships."
When the study asked to rank the most effective ways to build diverse corporate boards, women directors cited "board leadership serving as champions of board diversity" as the number one factor. Co-chair of WCD, Henrietta Holsman Fore, said: "Women tend to put the responsibility squarely on board leadership, while men see it as both a pipeline and a leadership issue."
The global online survey of more than 1,000 directors was released yesterday and was conducted over three months from July-September 2012.
