Voluntary quotas to increase the numbers of women at board level will accelerate cultural change, according to Tony Vardy, managing director at Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann.

Yesterday, Lord Davies recommended that FTSE 100 companies should aim for 25% representation of women in the boardroom by 2015. However, his recommendation fell short of making such quotas mandatory.

Vardy says: “We welcome Lord Davies’ recommendations, which address an important issue for UK businesses. For voluntary targets to be effective, a wholesale culture shift is required, involving companies, investors and executive search firms. Lord Davies’ report this morning references a number of research studies demonstrating the commercial impact of diverse boards. We believe that cultural change will be accelerated if consolidated evidence of increased value for shareholders is brought to the forefront of chairmen’s minds.

“We are fully supportive of the suggested Code of Conduct and believe it is an important first step in creating much needed change. We are well underway with the Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann code of practice for creating world-class boards, which includes our approach to diversity, in all its forms. In our view the issue is much deeper than board-level appointments however; the critical question is why women aren’t rising to the top of organisations. More needs to be done by companies to develop female employees and to build women’s confidence and desire to reach the highest echelons of UK plc.”

But Hassan Jalil, a partner at executive search firm Hunter & Chase, told Recruiter he doesn’t support the idea of quotas for women on boards.

Jalil told Recruiter: “From our perspective quotas are not the way forward, as talented female executives on the board may be questioned about whether they are there on merit or because of the quota system.”

This applies to any minorities, and not just women, he adds.

Jalil said this was the general view held by women executives that his firm deals with, and was also informed by the company’s involvement in a US initiative — 2020 Woman on Boards programme.

Jalil adds: “We would rather see more initiatives to encourage and help women to move up through the ranks.”

These include providing more networking opportunities and events for women to ensure that headhunting firms have a better balance of women and men on their books.

“There are plenty of talented female executives out there you just need to network in the right way,” says Jalil.

He explains that because females account for just 20% of those on executive search firms’ books, shortlists are likely to reflect this.

Headhunters have a responsibility to proactively seek out this talent, he adds.

Sarah Churchman, PwC’s director of diversity, says the report gives business a map and a destination, but leaves it up to companies to make their own plans on how to get there.

“Targets are a great way to set how you’ll get there. But we’re not about achieving a target at all costs. It drives the wrong behaviours and does not address the underlying blockers. For example, you could see a business simply recruit in lots of senior women, rather than developing them through the ranks. That would simply act as a disincentive to those at more junior levels to see internal candidates overlooked to reach a target.

“At PwC we focus on what drives the behaviours behind the decisions being made. The blockers are conscious and subconscious. For example, we have women who want to be partner, but it’s not in their nature to push themselves forward and have that first conversation. Waiting for a tap on the shoulder gets you nowhere.

“There are three blockers to women’s progress: they haven’t been asked, they haven’t said they want to progress or they don’t have the confidence in their capabilities. Diversity needs to be embedded at every stage of development so that the pipeline of women coming through our business begins when they join an organisation.

“Role models have a major role to play in our profession. Women need to see successful women in action. Without these role models, the view and ambition of how far women can push themselves is limited.”