If you are looking to have more women on boards, the key issue is whether you are looking for women whose backgrounds replicate those of the men (FTSE firms’ excuses for lack of women in boardrooms ‘pitiful and patronising’, 31 May). You won’t find many: there are far fewer women in the c-suite and even fewer chief executives of major companies. The true value of bringing more women into the boardroom is to achieve greater diversity, so look to senior women in public services and the many walks of civil society. But first make sure your boardroom is an inclusive place; no woman wants to sit on a board if she is not going to be listened to. There is plenty of evidence that women are interrupted in meetings or, worse, have their contributions attributed to a man.
To achieve gender equality in the workplace, from entry level all the way through to the board room, men and women need to work together. At Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, our collaborating with men research found that women feel that it is workplace culture issues that hold them back in their careers – but the barrier to change is that men are often unaware of these issues. Through working with a number of major companies across the UK, we have shown that making men more aware of the problems that women experience is essential for inspiring change.
Barbara Stocking
President, Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge
• Many years ago, I was an NHS regional PR and marketing manager. Despite a number of men applying for the post, I got it because I had better qualifications and experience. At a departmental meeting, the chief executive drew the attendees’ attention to a paper entitled: (Management Recruitment) “Where are all the Good Women?” The only woman in an otherwise all male group, I quipped (to a collective sharp intake of breath): “Alas, waiting for the good men to find us.” How sad, that nearly 30 years later, attitudes haven’t changed: good women are still having to rely on men to employ them.
Worse, many women who have made it to the top seem keen to keep their status exclusive, doing little to promote or support other women in turn.
Charmaine Fletcher
Basildon, Essex
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