英國董事學會:我們需要女掌門

As I take up the chairmanship of the UK’s Institute of Directors, I cannot help but reflect on the fact that it has taken 112 years for a woman to be appointed to this role.

接受英國董事學會(Institute of Directors)主席一職時，我不禁開始反思一個現象：這竟然是112年以來該學會首次指派女性來擔任這一角色。

Although I have worked around the world in senior roles in the law, financial services and the nuclear industry, I am sure my most significant career opportunity came in part because I am female. When I was appointed in 1980, the US Securities and Exchange Commission had managed only one female commissioner in its 45-year history. I believe I was qualified, and that my subsequent performance justified my selection . Nevertheless, I am sure the reason for my appointment was that President Jimmy Carter wanted to address the historic gender imbalance.

儘管我在世界各地的法律、金融服務和核能行業擔任過高級管理崗位，但是我確定我之所以迎來職業生涯最重要的機遇，部分原因在於我是女性。1980年當我被任命爲美國證券交易委員會(SEC)委員時，SEC在其之前的45年曆史中只成功任命了一位女委員。我相信自己是勝任的，我接下來的表現也證明了我是當之無愧的。話雖如此，我確信自己被任命的原因是時任美國總統的吉米•卡特(Jimmy Carter)希望解決SEC歷史上性別失衡的問題。

Few men, by contrast, even consider how they secured a job. They just seize the opportunity and assume they must be able, which is probably why they put themselves forward in the first place. Sadly, this is not always true for women.

相反，男性幾乎根本不會去考慮他們如何得到一份工作。他們只要抓住機遇並且認定自己一定能勝任，這可能也是他們一開始就積極主動的原因。遺憾的是，對女性來說並不總是這樣。

Ask a group of schoolgirls to close their eyes and picture a surgeon, a chief executive or a pilot. Then ask those who visualised a woman to raise their hands: only one or two will go up, if any. It used to be that if a girl showed an interest in science, she was encouraged to become a nurse. These days she will, at least, be encouraged to become a doctor — but why not an engineer? Much more must be done in schools to make young girls believe that there is no longer any such thing as a “female” career path.

讓一羣女學生閉上眼，在腦子裏想象一名外科醫師、首席執行官或飛行員的形象。然後讓那些腦子裏想象出女性形象的學生把手舉起來：如果真的有人舉手的話，估計也就只有一兩個。過去，如果有女孩對科學表現出興趣，別人會鼓勵她成爲一名護士。如今，她至少會被鼓勵去當一名醫生——但是爲什麼不能是工程師？想要讓年輕女孩相信世界上不再有“女性”職業道路這回事兒，我們必須在學校付出更多努力。

Although the attitude in UK schools is changing, there is much to do at primary level as well as in the field of business. The link between industry, especially local employers, and schools must be strengthened, with female role models introduced to young children. Maths should include basic accounting as well as profit and loss analysis, which would in any case provide a fascinating and relevant approach to the subject.

儘管英國學校的態度正在改變，但我們除了要在商界加大努力，在小學也一樣。必須加強行業（特別是地方僱主）與學校之間的聯繫，將女性角色模範介紹給幼年兒童。數學應該包含基礎會計以及盈虧分析，不管怎樣這都會令該課程變得有趣而與人息息相關。

We also need to look at what happens after graduation. Specifically, we need to be tackling the issue of gender diversity at executive level. Too many young women still see the decision-making roles as the preserve of men who play golf together. This is why we need to focus on creating a pipeline of female talent for senior executive positions.

我們也需要看看畢業後會發生什麼。更確切地說，我們需要在高管層面處理性別多樣性的問題。太多年輕女性仍然把決策角色視爲一起打高爾夫的男人們的專屬。正因如此，我們需要爲女性人才創建一個進入高級管理崗位的通道。

We are at a magic moment. The de­bate about the lack of female participation at the upper echelons of business is high on the political agenda in the UK and Europe. As a result of the efforts of campaigners, individuals and companies, a rising number of women occupy oversight roles in the boardroom.

我們正處於見證奇蹟的時刻。關於企業高層缺乏女性參與的討論，正處於英國乃至歐洲政治議程的前列。在活動人士、個人及企業的努力下，越來越多的女性在董事會擔任監督角色。

What we need now, however, is for women to become chief executives, not just non-executives. For this we must encourage more of them to aspire to a corporate career at an early age, as well as ensuring they can then progress to high-level decision-making roles. We should be seeking to excite our most talented young women about the idea of running a business, either by setting up their own or by climbing to the top of one of our great companies.

然而，我們如今需要的是讓女性成爲首席執行官，而不僅僅是非執行高管。因此，我們必須鼓勵更多女性在年輕時就立志在企業中追求一份事業，也要確保她們之後可以晉升到高級別的決策角色。我們應該去激發那些最具才華的年輕女性產生經營企業的想法，無論是創辦自己的企業還是在一家大公司內爬到頂層。

I want the IoD to be their first port of call. Our mentoring schemes and start-up support services are already helping the next generation find their way up the ladder. Our annual Women as Leaders conference is another example of Britain’s oldest business body keeping its eyes firmly on the future.

我希望英國董事學會能成爲她們的第一站。我們的輔導計劃和創業支持服務已經在幫助下一代女性找到攀上雲梯的道路。我們每年一度的“女性領導人”(Women as Leaders)會議，是這家英國最老牌的企業協會牢牢着眼於未來的又一個例子。

Businesses themselves, however, must do more. They need to make sure women are given opportunities to enter senior management positions with profit and loss responsibility. Companies must spot and nurture female talent in pursuit of executive diversity at every level. They must also make professional pressure points more manageable for women with family responsibilities, which are as likely to include caring for elderly parents as children.

然而，企業本身應該付出更多努力。它們需要確保女性擁有進入高級管理崗位、擔負起盈虧職責的機遇。爲了追求各級別管理層的多樣性，企業必須發現並培養女性人才。對於承擔家庭責任（很可能既要顧全老人又要照顧孩子）的女性，它們也必須讓她們的職業壓力點更容易掌控。

Already, change is being driven from all sides. Companies are increasingly recognising the business case for gender diversity. A recent report in the Academy of Management Journal in America looked at 140 studies on the subject and found that more women on a board correlates with better profitability.

所幸，各方都在推動着改變。企業日益意識到性別多樣化在商業上的好處。美國《管理學會期刊》(The Academy of Management Journal)最近一篇報告查看了針對該課題的140篇研究文章，發現董事會的女性越多，則盈利能力越強。

Demographic and social pressures are also contributing to this change. You will see this if you visit the IoD on London’s Pall Mall: men in their sixties have long been over-represented among our members but we have launched a category for younger entrepreneurs, which is much more balanced and diverse.

人口壓力及社會壓力也在推動着這項改變。如果你前往位於倫敦蓓爾美爾街(Pall Mall)的英國董事學會，你就會發現這一點：我們的成員中60多歲男性的比例長久以來一直過高，不過我們已經爲年輕企業家推出了一個組別，它的成員更加平衡和多樣化。

These changes, which reflect both shifting attitudes and the reality of modern Britain, are immensely encouraging to me. Given this promising pipeline of talent, it is time to move the debate from filling non-executive roles towards the less obvious, but far more important, promotion of women to executive positions. My chairmanship of the IoD will, in large part, be devoted to this cause.

這些改變反映出態度的轉變及現代英國現實的變化，極大地鼓舞着我。有了這條前景光明的人才輸送通道，現在是時候把討論的內容從讓女性填補非執行角色，推進到讓女性晉升至管理崗位了，儘管後者沒那麼引人注意，但比前者重要得多。我擔任英國董事學會主席期間，將把很大精力投入這項事業。