By Lucy Caulkett-
A move to inspire the next generation of business leaders in the UK, in the form of a new government-backed Board of senior industry bosses will today meet for the first time.
The Men As Change Agents (MACA) “Lead the Change” Board plan to work with organisations across the country to encourage business leaders to act as Change Agents to promote diversity and inclusion in business. It’s aim is to achieve greater equality and opportunity at the top of companies.
Chairing the board will be Emer Timmons and Denis Woulfe MBE. Timmans has 20 years of tech & telecommunications experience, including with BT Group, and Brightstar Corp. as Chief Marketing Officer and President of Strategic.
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As part of their work, the MACA “Lead the Change” Board will support the Hampton-Alexander Review to help target 33% of executive level FTSE 350 business leaders are women by the end of 2020. Board members will also work to increase the ethnic diversity in an effort to ensure that each FTSE 100 board should have at least one ethnic minority director by 2021, and each FTSE 250 board should have at least one ethnic minority director by 2024, supporting the work being delivered by Sir John Parker.
In the Board’s opening meeting today, co-chairs plan to emphasise how diversity and inclusion is good for business, with organisations in the top 25% for gender diversity on their executive teams, 21% more likely to have profits above their industry average.
Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, said:
“Companies that exclude smart, hard-working women because of their gender are missing out on a huge amount of talent. The Men As Change Agents Board is led by heads of business, and they will be using their expertise and influence to work with organisations.
“Equality at work has a huge benefit to business, the economy and society. I want it to be just as easy for an ambitious women to get a job as an ambitious man.”
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Emer Timmons and Denis Woulfe MBE, MACA- lead the change Co-Chairs, said:
“It is now widely accepted that the workplace needs to become more diverse and inclusive and there is much more that the business community can do to lead the change.
“We hope that by increasing the number of supportive senior business leaders, the current majority of whom are male, as change agents, and by sharing best practice and ideas which make a difference, we can help accelerate the change we all want to see.”
As part of the Men As Change Agents initiative, business leaders are invited to pledge to take personal responsibility for promoting better diversity and inclusion in their business and strive to achieve the targets set out by the Hampton-Alexander and Parker reviews.
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The business leaders also plan to promote better diversity and inclusion by sponsoring 1-3 individuals from an underrepresented group within organisations who have the potential to secure an executive role within 3 years.
Additionally they plan to be an active and visible Change Agent by being part of the wider business conversation and achieving better diversity and inclusion within your organisation as a result.
Among their chief heavyweights are Jonathan Bullock – A London based strategic adviser, start-up chairman, angel investor and executive coach. Included is Sir William Touche – London Senior Partner and Vice Chair at Deloitte. They also have Randall S. Peterson – Professor and Academic Director of the Leadership Institute at London Business School. Caroline Waters OBE FRSA CiPD (Hons) – Deputy Chair of the EHRC, Vice President of Carers UK, RSPCA Trustee and Founder of CW Consulting Box.
Emma Codd – Partner of the UK professional services firm, Deloitte LLP, and Special Advisor on Inclusion for Deloitte Global. Last but not least, Elysia McCaffrey – Deputy head of the Government Equalities Office and leads work on gender equality, primarily leading work to close the gender pay gap.
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