Melanie Wadsworth Interviewed by Strategic Risk Magazine on Proposed EU Gender Quotas in the Boardroom

A European Union initiative proposing that women represent 30 percent of European boardrooms by the year 2015 has been adopted by all but seven national parliaments in the EU. Melanie Wadsworth of Faegre Baker Daniels shared her opinion on the matter in an article appearing in the September edition of Strategic Risk Magazine. Wadsworth supported the idea of more women in the boardroom, but expressed fears that the gender campaign may undermine the boardroom.

"There is a risk that we end up promoting women who are not ready," Wadsworth said. 

Wadsworth said that a better approach would be to provide better training and mentoring programmes for female executives rather than relying on quotas alone. She added that diversity shouldn't be about gender, but about the correct balance of necessary skills.

"What matters is that the board has a complementary and balanced set of skills and that all individuals feel able to express their views freely and effectively," she said.