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Aspiring female directors often lack top leadership experience
Handelszeitung
The boards of Switzerland’s top companies remain largely male-dominated, with very few women achieving director status, reports the Handelszeitung. According to Mark Hoenig, a consultant at Egon Zehnder International, Zurich, boards often seek directors with specialist knowledge to fill gaps. Ultimately, however, they look for independent, results-oriented individuals with strong strategic skills, explains Hoenig. “Major public companies tend to look for individuals that have already headed large companies themselves. Since this applies to very few women to date, there are few valid candidates for directorships as a result,” he adds. On a brighter note, Hoenig is confident that this pattern is set to change in the future. As more women make it to executive level, the number of female directors should increase, he predicts. “If we have to find a director today, gender is certainly not a criterion; only competencies count,” Hoenig concludes. |
