Morrisons has set a target to more than double its number of women senior managers in three years and is inviting its suppliers to aim for similar goals.
The retailer has responded to last week’s Davies report calling for 25 per cent female representation on FTSE100 firms’ board of directors by 2015. Morrisons has set itself a target of reaching 30 per cent women members on its senior management group by 2014 - the figure is currently 13 per cent.
“In order to achieve its target, Morrisons is developing the skills, mindset and experience of our colleagues,” the retailer said in a statement. “It has established a steering group to ensure that opportunities are created for women in the business. Coaching and mentoring is being provided for 300 senior women in Morrisons.”
The programme already has the backing of the Morrisons board of directors and will be driven by Toni Eastwood, director of academy and talent. “Morrisons will be inviting its suppliers to aspire to similar targets starting with a conference in July,” the retailer said.
Lord Davies’s report also recommended FTSE 350 companies should set their own, challenging targets and expects that many will achieve a much higher figure than 25 per cent.
He called on companies to set targets for 2013 and 2015 to ensure that more talented women can get into the top jobs.
Lord Davies also calls on chairmen to announce these goals in the next six months and chief executives to review the percentage of women they aim to have on their executive committees in 2013 and 2015 and fully disclose the number of women on their boards.
