A WomanÊs Place in Public Appointments. March 2015

Transcription

1 A WomanÊs Place in Public Appointments March 2015

2 This report was researched and written by Norma Jarboe OBE, Director of Women Count 2

3 Foreword Since the start of my Women in Public Life campaign in 2012 I have been addressing the need for more women in Wales s boardrooms. I launched the campaign with an aim to increase women s representation by encouraging women to apply for board positions. There are much fewer women than men in important decision making roles. The imbalance exists in organisations, charities, government and in local authorities and we need to initiate change so that those in power reflect the diversity of our society fairly. A Woman s Place in Public Appointments paints an interesting picture of the progress we ve made in recent years, however it also reminds us of the work there is yet to be done to make women s voices heard and valued in decision making roles. It is therefore a great pleasure for me to congratulate Norma on this excellent and valuable research. Dame Rosemary Butler AM, Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales 3

4 Foreword The celebration of International Women s Day every March is an opportunity to highlight and assess the leadership of women in Wales in all segments of our society and economy. This year our focus is on the participation of women in leadership roles in public bodies that are arm s length governmental organisations but provide important public services and advice. A woman s Place in Public Appointments shows that there are successes to celebrate but that progress across the public bodies analysed is uneven. There is still much work to be done if women are to be fully represented in decision-making roles. Chwarae Teg is working in partnership with Cardiff Business School to deliver the Welsh Assembly s Women in Public Life development scheme which was launched by the Presiding Officer in This scheme has an important role to play in ensuring the effective development and progression of women into roles that have a direct influence on people s lives across Wales. It provides mentoring, shadowing and training opportunities as well as the skills and confidence needed to successfully apply for positions in public life. The programme has already successfully helped women take up roles in public life to make long lasting and significant change we need to build on these successes. A Woman s Place in Public Appointments is the second in a series of reports that document women s representation in decision-making roles in various sectors. The first, A Woman s Place in Academia, was launched in September These reports follow on from our research A Woman s Place that delved into the experience of women in Wales over a period of ten years. They also contribute to the 50/50 by 2020 campaign that aims to see the number of women in decisionmaking positions across Wales to be a representative 50% by Chwarae Teg remains committed to working with all partners in government, public, private and third sectors to meet our common goal of a fairer Wales in which men and women can contribute, achieve and prosper equally. Joy Kent Chief Executive, Chwarae Teg 4

5 Table of Contents Page 5 Page 6 Pages 7-10 Pages Pages Page 18 Page 19 Introduction Diversity in Public Appointments Welsh Government Sponsored Public Bodies NHS Wales Advisory Bodies and Panels Commissioners and Public Office Holders Conclusion 5

6 Introduction A Woman s Place in Public Appointments benchmarks the representation of women in leadership roles in public bodies to which Welsh Ministers make appointments. These bodies operate at arms length from the Welsh Government and cover a wide range of subject areas that are hugely important to the quality of our social, economic and political life. Depending on their remit, they deliver services, provide advice or regulate. Welsh Ministers appoint all or a portion of the directors to these public bodies and usually appoint the Chairs as well. Most ministerial appointments are regulated by the Public Appointments Commissioner for England and Wales and must follow a strict code of practice that encourages fairness, transparency and diversity. There are also a number of ministerial appointments to advisory bodies and sector panels that are not regulated by the Public Appointments Commissioner. This report includes both regulated and non-regulated public bodies. A Woman s Place in Public Appointments indexes each publicly-appointed body in terms of the participation of women as directors, board and committee chairs, chief executives and members of executive teams. Because of the variety of public bodies, they have been grouped into several categories: Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies, NHS Wales and non-regulated advisory committees and panels. The study also includes information on a small number of Commissioner and other Public Office appointments. 6

7 Diversity and Public Appointments Both nationally and within Wales, the need to increase the diversity of public appointments is a public priority. Such diversity ensures that the boards of public bodies command public confidence by reflecting the people they serve. Targets have been set to make this happen and to monitor progress. The UK Government has set a target of 50% women for all new appointments to be achieved by 2015 and the Welsh Government has set a target of 40% of public appointments to be women by Annual monitoring information published by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments shows that Wales exceeds the national figures for the percentage of female appointments made to regulated public bodies. Between and , Welsh Ministers made a total of 697 appointments and reappointments with 42% of them women. For the UK as a whole 9,087 such appointments were made but women represented only 36% of them. As part of its work to achieve greater diversity in public appointments, the Welsh Government has taken a number of actions. The Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty has involved the chairs of publicly-appointed bodies in seminars and sharing of good practice. This has resulted in determined efforts to increase the pool of applicants in their areas of work through programmes of engagement, mentoring and shadowing opportunities. The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales launched the Women in Public Life campaign to encourage women to apply for board positions on public bodies. The campaign includes a series of lectures that feature inspirational women who have succeeded in traditionally maledominated areas as well as networking events and career fairs. In October of 2014, the Women in Public Life Development Programme was launched. Delivered in partnership with Chwarae Teg and Cardiff Business School, the programme provides mentoring, shadowing and training for women aspiring to become board members of public bodies. The Welsh Assembly also works in partnership with a number of organisations, such as the Welsh Local Government Association, WenWales, the Women s Institute and Women Making a Difference to improve the representation of women in public appointments. 7

8 Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies There are seventeen Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies (WGSBs), which receive direct funding from the Assembly but operate under their own legal powers. Chief executives of these are directly accountable to the Welsh Government for the regularity, propriety and value for money of expenditure. Remit or grant letters set out priorities and targets for each public body. There are three types of Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies included in this section. These are executive bodies that deliver services, advisory bodies and the national park authorities. All have Ministerial public appointments that are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Some co-opt additional directors and, in the case of the national park authorities, local authorities appoint a share of directors. Types of Welsh Government Sponsored Public Bodies Executive Bodies Advisory Bodies National Park Authorities Arts Council of Wales Advisory Panel on Substance Misuse Brecon Beacons National Park Authority Care Council for Wales All Wales Medicines Strategy Group Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa Independent Appeals Panel for Farmers Snowdonia National Park Authority Higher Education Funding Council for Wales Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board National Library of Wales Local Boundary Commission for Wales National Museum of Wales Natural Resources Wales Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales Sport Wales 8

9 Women s representation in Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies % of Female Directors No. of Female Directors No. of Directors Welsh Government Sponsored Body Chair of Trustees Advisory Panel on Substance Misuse Kyrie James Chief Executive National Museum of Wales Elisabeth Elias David Anderson Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa John Taylor Richard Spear Care Council for Wales Arwell Ellis Owen Rhian Huws Williams Independent Appeals Panel for Farmers Roderick Williams Sport Wales Prof Laura McAllister Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Valerie Barrett Board Sarah Powell All Wales Medicines Strategy Group Dr Stuart Linton Arts Council of Wales Prof Dai Smith Nick Capaldi Higher Education Funding Council for Wales David Allen David Blaney Natural Resources Wales Prof Peter Matthews Dr Emyr Roberts Brecon Beacons National Park Authority Geraint Hopkins John Cook Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority Cllr Mike James Tegryn Jones Snowdonia National Park Cllr Caerwyn Emyr Williams Roberts National Library of Wales Sir Deian Hopkin Aled Gruffydd Jones Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales Dr Eurwyn Wiliam Christopher Catling Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales Owen Watkin Steve Halsall 35% All WSGB Bodies Men hold a substantial majority of WGSB board seats. Women have 35% of the 233 Director roles while men have 65% of them. The representation of women on WGSB boards and advisory bodies ranges from none at the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales to 58% for the Advisory Panel on Substance Misuse. Male and Female Directors of WGSBs male directors female directors 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 9

10 Women s representation on WGSB boards varies considerably by type of body. Women have only 26% of the seats on executive body boards and 24% of board seats on national park authority boards. Women are much better represented on advisory bodies where they have almost half of the roles. The table below provides a breakdown of directors by type of WGSB. Type of WGSB % Women Directors Number of Female Directors Number of Directors Executive 36% Advisory 45% National Parks Authorities 24% ALL WGSBs 35% The majority of boards are not gender-balanced. Seven of the WGSBs have between 40% -60% women on their boards. This is the range that is normally considered gender-balanced. Ten boards fall below this range and have between 0% to 38% women as board members. Gender-balanced boards have a much higher participation of women as chairs or chief executives. All female chairs and all female chief executives can be found in WSGBs where the boards are gender-balanced. Gender-balanced Boards in WGSBs 1 gender balanced (40%- 60% women) not gender balanced (more than 60% male) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 10

11 Men chair over 75% of Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies. There are only 4 female chairs of WGSB boards. Women chair the National Museum of Wales, the Sports Council, the Advisory Panel on Substance Misuse and the Welsh Industrial Development Board. As the table below shows, men also chair the vast majority of standing committees in executive bodies and national park authorities. Standing committees address a number of issues but there is only one female audit chair in all of the WGSBs. Standing committee chairs WGSB % Women Female Committee Chairs Number of Female Committee Chairs Number of Committee Chairs Executive 29% 8 28 National Park Authority 13% 2 16 All WGSBs 23% Men have the lion s share of chief executive and executive team roles in WGSBs. Eighty-five percent of chief executives of Welsh Sponsored Public Bodies are men. Only Sport Wales and the Care Council for Wales have a female chief executive. Figures for women on executive teams are better but women are still less than one-third of all executives. As the table below shows, only one national park authority has a female on its executive team. Executive teams including the chief executive WGSB % of Female Number of Female Number of Executives Executives Executives Executive Bodies 35% National Park Authorities 10% 1 10 All WSGBs 31% A male chair and a male chief executive pair is very much the norm in WGSBs. Both a male chair and a male chief executive pair are in post in 11 bodies. Only one WGSB has both a female chair and chief executive and one, the National Museum of Wales has a female chair and a male chief executive. Male and Female Chairs and Chief Executives in WGSBs 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% both chair and chief executive female both chair and chief executive male either female chair or chief executive 11

12 NHS Wales The NHS is a devolved body in Wales reporting to the Minister for Health and Social Care. The eighteen NHS Bodies in Wales are comprised of Community Health Councils, Local Health Boards and NHS Service Trusts. Community Health Councils act as a link between the health services and the communities they serve with powers to consult, scrutinise operations of health services and inspect NHS services. Local Health Boards are responsible for primary care, hospital services and community health services. The three NHS Service Trusts provide specialist services to the local health boards. Community Health Councils Local Health Boards NHS Service Trusts Abertawe Bro Morgannwg CHC Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Public Health Wales Health Board Aneurin Bevan CHC Aneurin Bevan University Health Board Velindre NHS Trust Betsi Cadwaladr CHC Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Welsh Ambulance Service Brecknock and Radnor CHC Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Cardiff and Vale CHC Cwm Taf University Health Board Cwm Taf CHC Hywel Dda University Health Board Hywel Dda CHC Powys Teaching Health Board Montgomeryshire CHC Women s representation in NHS Wales % of Female Directors No. of Female Directors No. of Directors NHS Wales Body Chair Chief Executive Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan CHC Lesley Jones Stephen Allen Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Maria Battle Adam Cairns Aneurin Bevan University Health Board David Jenkins Judith Paget Abertawe Bro Morgannwg CHC Roger Smith Phillip Williams Powys Teaching Health Board Prof Vivienne Harpwood Carol Shillabeer Hywel Dda University Health Board Bernardine Rees Steve Moore Betsi Cadwaladr CHC Gordon Donaldson Geoff Ryall-Hardy Brecknock & Radnor CHC Ann Mathias J David Adams Aneurin Bevan CHC Robert Dutt Catherine O'Sullivan Montgomeryshire CHC Margaret Evitts David Adams Hywel Dda CHC Paul Hinge vacant Cwm Taf CHC Mary Williams Paul Worthington Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Dr Peter Higson Prof Trevor Purt Velindre NHS Trust Prof Rosemary Kennedy Steve Ham Welsh Ambulance Service Mick Giannasi Tracy Myhill Cwm Taf University Health Board Dr Chris Jones Allison Williams Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board Andrew Davies Paul Roberts Public Health Wales Prof Sir Mansel Aylward Dr Tracey Cooper 48% All NHS Wales Bodies 12

13 Almost half of the directors of NHS Wales bodies are women. Across the 18 NHS Wales bodies, women have 48% of the board seats. There are 209 female directors and 436 male directors. Male and Female Directors in NHS Wales Bodies 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% male directors female directors The vast majority of NHS regulated bodies have gender-balanced boards. A very high 83% of these bodies have boards that are 40%-60% male or female. % Gender-balanced Boards in NHS Wales Bodies 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% gender balanced (40%- 60% women) not gender balanced (more than 60% male) 13

14 The percentage of total board seats held by women varies across NHS Wales bodies. The percentage of total board seats held by women ranges from 9% to 57% across the eighteen NHS bodies. Cardiff and Vale CHC and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board each have boards with 57% women directors. Public health Wales has only 9% women directors. The number of women on NHS boards varies from 1 woman on the Public Health Wales Board to 36 women on the Betsi Cadwaladr CHC. As the table below shows, Community Health Councils have the largest number of women directors with NHS Service Trusts lagging far behind. NHS Boards % Women Directors Number of Female Directors Number of Directors Community Health Councils 51% Local Health Boards 47% NHS Service Trusts 31% All NHS Boards 48% Women chair a healthy percentage of NHS boards but hold fewer committee chair roles. NHS Board chairs are now 44% female. Out of eighteen board chairs, eight are women. However, only 31% of chairs of standing board committees are women. The percentage of female chairs of committees varies considerably across Community Health Councils, Local Health Boards and NHS Service Trusts. Although the number and types of committees vary, not a single audit committee of any NHS local health board or NHS Service Trust is chaired by a female. Two of the NHS public bodies, Public Health Wales and the Welsh Ambulance Service, have no females in committee chair roles. Brecknock and Radnor CHC and Montgomeryshire CHC have the highest percentage of women in chair roles at 66%. Chairs of standing committees NHS Bodies % Female Committee Chairs Number of Female Committee Chairs Number of Committee Chairs Community Health 43% Councils Local Health Boards 29% NHS Service Trusts 7% 1 14 All NHS Bodies 31%

15 Women are only slightly more than a third of chief executives but they are a majority of executive teams. Women lead 35% of the NHS bodies as chief executives. There are 17 Chief executive officers with one vacancy. Women hold six of these Chief Officer posts. Two of these female chief executives were only appointed in 2014 and two are currently in interim roles. The table below shows the pipeline of female executive talent is much higher. Executive teams are now 54% across the eighteen regulated NHS bodies. Executive teams including the chief executive NHS Bodies % of Female Executives Number of Female Number of Executives Executives Community Health 60% Councils Local Health Boards 56% NHS Service Trusts 43% 9 21 All NHS Bodies 54% Having either a female chair or a female chief executive is now the norm in NHS Wales. 71% of the NHS bodies have either a female chair or a female chief executive, 23% have both a male chair and a male chief executive and 6% have both a female chair and a female chief executive. Male and Female Chairs and Chief Executives in NHS Wales 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% both chair and chief executive female both chair and chief executive male either female chair or chief executive 15

16 Advisory Bodies and Panels The Welsh Government makes appointments to a number of panels and advisory boards that fall outside the remit of the Public Appointments Commissioner. These bodies provide advice, act as tribunals or promote economic sectors. However, information on them is not easily found. The Welsh Government provided the list of bodies and their appointments following a freedom of information request. One, Flood Risk Management Wales, has been left out because appointments made by bodies other than the Welsh Government were not found. % of Female Members Number of Female Members Number of members Advisory Bodies and Panels (not regulated by Public Appointments Commissioner) Chair Welsh Medium Education Strategy Advisory Group Social Services Complaints Panels Special Education Needs Tribunal for Wales Rhiannon Walker Adjudication Panel for Wales J Peter Davies Sector Panel - Creative Industries Ronald Jones Sector Panel - Financial and Professional Services Christopher Nott Sector Panel - Wales Tourism General Teaching Council for Wales Mal Davies Upland Forum Derek Morgan Welsh Food Advisory Committee Roland Salmon Residential Property Tribunal Andrew Morris Sector Panel - Life Sciences Advisory Panel to the Welsh Language Ian Rees Commissioner Independent Remuneration Panel for Richard Penn Wales Meat Promotion Wales David Davies Sector Panel - ICT Thomas Kelly Valuation Tribunal Service for Wales Carol Cobert Sector Panel - Energy and Environment Regulatory Board for Wales D Hugh Building Regulations Advisory Committee for Wales Thomas Phillip Jones Industry Wales Board Gareth Jenkins Regeneration Investment Fund for Wales 30% All Advisory Bodies and Panels 16

17 Women are less than a third of the members of these non-regulated appointments. Of the 22 bodies, women have 30% of the advisory and panel member roles. Almost half of these bodies have 20% or fewer female members with three having none. The number of women in advisory committee or panel roles varies from 0 to 16. There appears to be some stereotyping of roles by subject areas. The bodies where women are the majority of members are concerned with social care and education. Boards with no female members include Industry Wales, which has a manufacturing and technology focus, and the Building Regulations Advisory Board, which would reflect the male-dominated construction sector. Male and Female members of Non-regulated Advisory Committees and Panels 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% male members female members A very small percentage of advisory committees and panels are gender balanced. Five advisory committee or panels have 40%-60% women. Almost half of these bodies have 20% or fewer female members. % Gender-balanced Advisory Committees and Panels 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% gender balanced (40-60 %female) not gender balanced 17

18 Men chair 87% of non-regulated advisory committees and panels. Sixteen of these bodies have a named chair. Only two chairs or 13% of chairs are women. One, Rhiannon Ellis Walker, is a deputy district judge appointed by the Lord Chancellor and the other, Carol Cobert, is elected by the body s membership. There are currently no female chairs appointed by Welsh Ministers. 18

19 Commissioners and Public Office Holders The First Minister for Wales makes three important commissioner appointments. These are the Children s Commissioner for Wales, the Older Person s Commissioner for Wales and the Welsh Language Commissioner. While these appointments are not regulated by the Public Appointments Commissioner for England and Wales, the appointment processes are embedded in statutes which require consultation and due regard to the recommendations of selection panels. While public appointments are normally made by Welsh Ministers, there are three individuals which the Assembly nominates. Two of these, the Auditor General for Wales and the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, are nominated by the National Assembly for Wales and then appointed by the monarch. The Commissioner for Standards is appointed by the full Assembly. Two of the six individual Commissioners or office holders are females. Commissioners and Public Office Holders Role Auditor General Children s Commissioner Commissioner for Standards Older People s Commissioner Public Services Ombudsman Welsh language Commissioner Appointment Huw Vaughan Thomas Keith Towler Gerard Elias QC Sarah Rochira Nick Bennett Meri Hughs 19

20 Conclusion It is possible to look at the overarching percentages and think that Wales isn t far from gender balance in public life. However, we need to look at the detail below that to understand there are significant issues still to address. For example, with 35% of members of Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies being women, this isn t far from the 40% threshold for gender balance. Yet, 10 of the 17 fall below that percentage and one has no women on the board at all. Eight-five percent of chairs are men and there are only 2 female chief executives. From the information supplied on Advisory Bodies and Panels, of 22 bodies, women hold 30% of the advisory and panel member roles. Almost half of these bodies have 20% or fewer female members and three have none. There are also only 2 female chairs. Reaching gender balance is achievable. The NHS currently has the best gender balance in public life in Wales. Across the 18 NHS Wales bodies, women have 48% of the board seats and 71% of NHS bodies have either a female chair or a female chief executive. For those bodies that are on the cusp of gender balance, with leadership from the top, making progress should be achievable within a very short time frame and without the need for significant support or intervention. The report highlights, however, that there are bodies that are far from representative and this needs urgent attention as does the issue of the under-representation of women in key roles. A number of Ministers have been addressing this issue within their portfolios and areas of influence in different ways and there are a range of organisations, initiatives and programmes that work with government and bodies to achieve change. But for timely and consistent progress to be made, we need to stop relying on the commitment of individual Ministers gender equality in public life needs to be a central plank of this and any future government s agenda. 20