Browsing by Author "Humbert, Anne Laure"

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    The perils of gender beliefs for men leaders as change agents for gender equality
    (Palgrave Macmillan / Wiley, 2018-08-22) Humbert, Anne Laure; Kelan, Elisabeth; van den Brink, Marieke
    This article examines the potentially damaging role that gender beliefs can play in hindering women's equal representation in leadership positions. Based on a secondary analysis of a large‐scale EU‐wide survey (Eurobarometer 76.1), the article shows that essentialist gender beliefs lower support for equality interventions such as quotas or targets, particularly among men as leaders. The results show that discriminatory gender beliefs partially mediate this relationship and produce a more negative effect among men leaders. The paper contributes to understanding the role essentialist gender beliefs often lay the groundwork for gender discriminatory beliefs. Those in turn hinder support for effective gender equality measures. Gender essentialist beliefs can be held by everyone but are more prevalent among men leaders. We conclude that greater gender balance in leadership cannot be achieved without tackling underlying gender beliefs, particularly among men leaders since they are called upon to enact change. We thereby argue that simply asking for men to become change agents for gender equality is not an effective strategy if underlying gender beliefs are left unchallenged.
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    The Female FTSE Board Report 2017: Women on Boards: Back on track?
    (2017-03-31) Vinnicombe, Susan; Sealy, Ruth; Humbert, Anne Laure
    This year we have seen the percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards rise to almost 28% (27.7%) after a year of stagnation. Over the past 12 months, turnover of board directors has been low (12.5%), but the proportion of new appointments going to women has hit the target of at least 1:3. This means that we could be within reach of 33% women on FTSE 100 boards by 2020 as long as the momentum is maintained. Progress continues also on the FTSE 250 which has risen to almost 23% (22.8%). Here there needs to be a greater push in order to meet the target of 33% by 2020. The percentage of women holding FTSE 100 non-executive (NED) positions is at an all-time high of 33.3%, but the percentage of women holding executive directorships remains low at just under 10%. This year six women hold chair positions and a further 14 hold Senior Independent Directorships on the FTSE 100.