Pictured: Fleur Holden

A shift in culture at all levels rather than mandatory EU quotas would be the best way to encourage more women onto the board says Fleur Holden, a partner at chartered accountant Clement Keys.

Fleur's comments were made in response to the publication of a progress report from Cranfield School of Management following Lord Davies' recommendations on voluntary targets for FTSE companies.

The report found that in the first half of this year just 14 per cent of FTSE 100 board-level appointments were women, while the figure for FTSE 250 Index companies was little better at 18 per cent (28 out of a possible 158 new appointments).  

Cranfield's report also reveals that more than two thirds of companies in the FTSE 100 have yet to decide how they intend to comply with the recommendations of Lord Davies, who set a voluntary target of a minimum of one in four female board members by 2015 following his Government-commissioned review. 

"It is generally agreed that ability is what counts, but appointments can sometimes be a reflection of boardroom culture and a lack of clarity during the selection process," says Fleur.

"I don't believe that this is going to improve unless women are afforded opportunities to gain experience and develop the skills required to run a business at the highest level.

"The next generation of women at board level is not going to be created through arbitrary quotas enforced by the EU - which would not be beneficial for business, especially those which operate in more gender biased industries - but this could become a reality unless firms take positive action.

"It's encouraging to see that some companies have made a start, like those that are enrolling women onto various mentoring programmes, as these appear to be very effective. I believe this is the kind of approach that will ultimately bring about a balanced mix of expertise in the boardroom and head off any further talk of mandatory legislation."