‘The boardroom remains a glass house’ – Seed Founding Partners

In the latest publication from advisory firm, Seed, Founding Partners JP Fabri and Nicky Gouder address the issue of gender equality and mainstreaming by exploring the reality of glass walls and ceilings in Malta’s listed companies.

“With only 11 per cent of directors being women and one woman is chair of the board of a listed company, Malta's listed companies remain glass houses,” they wrote.

In the publication’s foreword, the partners shared that challenges and hurdles are very much a present reality for women in the workplace, “and unless action is taken, they will remain in the future too”.

“The boardroom remains a glass house. International research has shown that increasing board diversity is not only the right thing to do, it also leads to better business outcomes, increased gender diversity at all levels, leads to smarter decision-making, contributes to an organisation’s bottom line, powers innovation and protects against blind spots,” they wrote.

Through its latest publication, Seed seeks to shine the spotlight on the boardrooms of Malta’s listed companies, and, following its research, it concluded “there’s no doubt that both the walls and ceilings are glass. Although close to half of the companies have at least one female director, there is no gender balance.”

The study suggests recommendations for boards to put in place in order to accelerate progress, including “setting the tone from the top – addressing culture and ensuring leadership accountability for building an inclusive environment.”