Business leaders aiming to boost diversity and inclusion in the workplace

The Men As Change Agents (MACA) “Lead the Change” Board will see some of the most experienced names in business come together to work with organisations across the country, with the aim of encouraging business leaders to act as Change Agents to promote diversity and inclusion in business, and achieving greater equality and opportunity at the top of companies.

Chairing the board will be Emer Timmons and Denis Woulfe MBE.

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, the co-chairs will 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.”

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:

1. To take personal responsibility for promoting better diversity and inclusion in your business and striving to achieve the targets set out by the Hampton-Alexander and Parker reviews.
2. To promote better diversity and inclusion by sponsoring 1-3 individuals from an underrepresented group within your organisation who have the potential to secure an executive role within 3 years.
3. 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.

Notes to editors:

The MACA Board website, with further information on how to sign up, can be found here tomorrow (Wednesday) - http://www.menaschangeagents.com/whats-happening

Full list of MACA “Lead the Change” Board members:

• Emer Timmons - Co-chair - Founder & CEO of ET Solutions GmbH and Non Executive Director
• Denis Woulfe MBE - Co-chair - Director of Denis Woulfe Consulting Ltd
• Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE - A portfolio Non-Executive Director and Advisory Director with current positions which include the Airports Operator Association, Tideway, Mace Group and the Department of Education
• Michael Prescott - Group Managing Director, Hanover Communications
• Jonathan Bullock - A London based strategic adviser, start-up chairman, angel investor and executive coach
• Sir William Touche - London Senior Partner and Vice Chair at Deloitte
• 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
• Elysia McCaffrey - Deputy head of the Government Equalities Office and leads work on gender equality, primarily leading work to close the gender pay gap.