The reference to “chairmen” should be replaced with the non-gendered word “chair” in business boards, as the former is outdated and sexist while the latter, though only a small change, helps “break down subconscious bias”, a coalition of groups led by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said.
The BCC wants the Companies House, the UK’s business register, to withdraw the default reference to a company “chairman” in its model articles of association, the template used to establish businesses.
Sarah Howard, the BCC’s chairman, said: “It’s a small but very significant alteration that will help break down subconscious bias and send a clear message to future generations that they have an equal role to play in running businesses whatever their gender identity.”
Figures released in February as part of a global report by Deloitte show just three in 10 board seats in the UK are held by women, lagging behind countries including France and Italy.
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According to last month’s data, there were just 16 female chairmen — 39 percent of people — in the FTSE 100, and 32 in the FTSE 250.
While this is up from 36 percent in 2020 and the UK overall standing for gender diversity has improved on the global scale, moving from 13th to 9th place since the report was last published in 2019, there is still a long way to go, with Ms Howard saying: “There is much more that all of us need to do to help address inequality in the business world, and this change would send a clear message on government intent.”
But the calls for “chairman” to be “consigned to the history books” is understood to have been rejected by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who said priorities were getting “mixed up” and argued such a change would “require a vote in the House of Commons”.
Make UK’s Dame Judith Hackitt said: “This is a welcome and long-overdue change which is easy to make and which I hope all businesses across the UK will support.
“Despite progress in recent years, it remains the case that women are under-represented in the most senior roles across companies.”
Jonathan Geldart, director-general of the IoD, said the move was not a “silver bullet”. However, he would not call it “trivial” either.
He said: “The importance of language should not be underestimated.
“By taking this small step, the Government can ensure that gender neutrality is instilled in new business ventures at their inception.”
A spokesman from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We wholeheartedly support increasing the diversity of business leaders and championing women in business.
“Companies already have the flexibility to craft their own articles, and to amend their articles as they see fit.”
Details within the Companies House’s template can be changed. Yet, due to most businesses’ unawareness, “chairman” is more often than not automatically adopted.
