Rosalind Connor comments in Pensions Expert on the review of the continuing low number of women (26%) holding senior management positions in UK corporate board.

Rosalind said gender diversity has only recently become an issue for trustee boards because they have long been “the poor relation of management groups”, and a lack of attention has meant less impetus to reform.

She said that, “by instinct”, change is not welcome at management level in any sector, but that female representation on trustee boards has been improving, especially as HR departments, which tend to employ many women, become increasingly involved in recruitment. Connor said trustee boards are unusual structures in that all members have roughly the same role, meaning that women are not delegated to specialised, uninfluential positions as they are in many corporate boards.

“In terms of total numbers trustee boards look bad, but they have an equality within their system”, she noted.

Moreover, low diversity is impeding schemes’ performance; they “can’t make considered decisions without people challenging the status quo”, Connors remarked.

Connors said she did not think that low diversity harms female scheme members specifically, as “women don’t need to speak to women” to make sensible savings.

The real problem with women and savings is that many do not earn enough to save adequately, “which is the bigger equality issue”, she added.