Lord Davies 'not convinced' by boardroom quotas

Lord Davies of Abersoch has offered a strong indication that he will not recommend mandatory gender quotas to increase the number of women in the boardroom.

Writing in the Guardian, the former banker said he had spoken to many women who would oppose forcing companies to recruit more female directors, despite the success of such measures in other countries.

Lord Davies was appointed by the government to lead a review into the lack of female representation at the top level of British businesses, with his final recommendations expected in February.

On the subject of quotas, he commented: "At the moment I am not convinced that they are the right method to encourage progress.

"Female executives need to be recognised for the talent and skills that they possess."

The former government minister's remarks are likely to please the Institute of Directors, which has warned against imposing gender quotas on several occasions.

However, the CBI is in favour of a system that would see firms set their own targets for diversity in the boardroom and then report their progress on a "comply or explain" basis.