RACHEL


DAVIS CO-CEO,


ARMSTRONG CRAVEN


The business case for having more women around the


boardroom table Increasing the number of female leaders in an organisation has many benefits, says Rachel Davis, co-CEO Armstrong Craven, a global talent mapping and pipelining partner for scarce and senior positions.


H


aving more


female


leaders ensures a more


representation of a


company’s investors, customers, stakeholders and employers. It derisks the organisation by removing the liability of poor decisions made through groupthink. Achieving true


gender diversity does not


happen overnight, though, and it is not a quick fix. Companies need to review how they conduct their search process for executive talent and think outside their own niche industries in order to find the right candidate. “There have been big changes at


board level due in part to legislation in some countries, which have enhanced female


non-executive


representation on boards,” she says. “However, when it comes to the executive leadership team, change has been slower. While functional roles like chief information officer (CIO) and chief financial officer (CFO) are


increasingly occupied


by women, the more corporate or business roles too often are still male dominated.” She feels that more


there needs to be a pipeline


emphasis on building for the future, giving


younger women more opportunities to build and develop skills.


18 leadership equitable


Rachel was part of Armstrong


Craven’s MBO in 2013 and has held board roles since then, so as well as being in touch with recruitment trends in executive


leadership,


she also has lived experience of being a female leader. She joined Armstrong Craven in 1998 and as co-managing director, oversees operations and retains key client relationships globally.


CHANGING MINDSETS From the perspective


pandemic – a


search, she says the effects of the


of talent growing


talent shortage due to the Great Resignation, demand for more flexible working and an increasing need


for digital-savvy managers


– have driven more employers to consider potential candidates from outside their niche industries. “Businesses overall have


appreciated the greater access to talent that flexible working brings,” she says. “There’s also the fact that the talent itself is demanding this flexibility now, although during lockdown the benefits of flexible working may well have been offset by the


challenges women faced


around home schooling and juggling family life. Women with school-age children may decide to step out of corporate life and run their own business or become consultants in


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