OBSERVATIONS 0F A TOY INDUSTRY SURVIVOR JON SALISBURY Is positive discrimination in business ridiculous? Our columnist ponders the question


OF THE world’s three largest toy companies, only two have women on their Board of Directors and one has none.


In the US, Hasbro has Lisa Gersh


and Tracy Leinbach while Mattel has Frances Ferguson, Andrea Rich and Kathy White Lloyd, but Europe’s LEGO has not one female on its top table. This fact is particularly surprising as LEGO CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp is one of industry advocacy group Dansk Industri’s ‘ambassadors for more women in management’. Oh, the


figure only reached 23 per cent in 2012.


The politically correct lobby had a field day with LEGO earlier this year when the company released the Friends range. Even the Danish Minister for Gender Equality accused the line of reinforcing traditional gender roles but later apologised for his “bombastic and blunt manner”. The last laugh, though, was with the toy company which sold twice as many Friends sets as expected.


The politically correct lobby had a field day with LEGO when the company released the Friends range. The last laugh, though, was with the toy company which sold twice as many Friends sets as expected.


irony, and unsurprisingly it’s chafed the sensibilities somewhat of staff internally at the Danish company, with employees directly questioning Knudstorp on his decision. “It would have been quite good


to have a woman in a top position,” said Agnete Gamborg, LEGO’s senior director of project management. “There was a natural reaction in the company when we saw that the board consisted solely of men.” Knudstorp’s defence was that


“there were very few women to choose from”. LEGO’s upper-level management has actually seen a decrease in female employees in the last two years. The company told the Ministry


for Gender Equality in 2010 that it wanted to fill 35 per cent of its managerial positions, but that


Of course, some people believe that positive discrimination in business is ridiculous. You can’t base business rationale on emotions, they argue. But surely a toy business needs feminine input, others contend. LEGO has plenty of female employees in senior positions, but what unique qualities would they contribute on the Board? Plans for EU


minimum quotas of women on company boards were postponed in October, after running into tough opposition within the


Jon Salisburyhas written about the toy business since 1985, editing magazines and running toy media events in New York and London. He can be contacted atjon@wotkidzwant.comor @JonSalisbury


www.toynews-online.biz Editorial: 01992 535646 Advertising: 01992 535647


ToyNews is published 11 times a year by Intent Media ~ Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG14 1JA Fax: +44 (0)1992 535648


© Intent Media 2012 No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners. ISSN: 1740-3308


Intent Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Associations 74 December/January CIRCULATION &SUBSCRIPTIONS


AUDITED CIRCULATION Average Net Circulation: 6,199 July 1st 2011 to June 30th 2012. SUBSCRIPTIONS UK: £50 Europe: £60 Rest of World: £90 The international cost applies per subscription and covers airmail dispatch of 12 issues To order your subscription via Visa, MasterCard, Amex Switch or Delta contact toy.subscriptions@c-cms.com or call 01580 883 848. Alternatively visit our website www.toynews-online.biz Subscriptions Manager - Lindsay Banham, Lindsay.Banham@intentmedia.co.uk


www.toynews-online.biz


European Commission. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, seeking backing for a law obliging companies to appoint at least 40 per cent of its top-table seats to women, insisted the battle was not over, despite lawyers warning the plan might be unenforceable. “I will not give up,” Ms Reding said, but the setback will boost the move’s opponents, including UK Business Secretary Vince Cable. However, Socialist MEPs said Ms Reding should carry on pressing to get the quota system into EU law. Gender quotas have


already been introduced in domestic law in France, Italy, Spain, Iceland and Belgium. Norway, which is not an


EU member, has had a 40


per cent minimum boardroom requirement for women for a decade. I know little about the


Norwegian toy market, so can’t comment on how that has influenced Norwegian toy sales…


Follow me on Twitter @jonsalisbury


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76