Cranfield’s ‘Women to Watch’ 2019 list

Fifty leading female professionals from Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are highlighted in the 2019 Women to Watch supplement, published annually by Cranfield University’s School of Management alongside the Female FTSE Board Report. The Female FTSE Board Report, launched today (11th July 2019), reveals that only 11% of women on FTSE 100 boards are from BAME backgrounds*.

Challenging assumptions with a breadth of talent

The Women to Watch supplement showcases a wide range of women available for, and ideally suited to, board positions on FTSE 350 companies now or in the near future. The 2019 edition, produced in collaboration with the Black British Business Awards and The Network of Networks BAME – Multicultural Chapter (TNON), features women from a range of sectors and from across the BAME spectrum.

Dr Doyin Atewologun, Director of the Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Centre at Cranfield University, said: “This year we challenge assumptions about the type of woman suited to board positions showcasing senior women who come from backgrounds historically under-represented in the senior leadership pipeline. We show that board members need not be drawn solely from the finance, legal, banking or professional services sectors, but can also come from the worlds of media, technology, academia and the third sector.”

While the 2019 Female FTSE Board Report shows that many companies are on track to reach the target of 33% of board positions going to women by 2020, Dr Atewologun says businesses cannot be complacent: “We need to be sure that we are not only advancing progress for a certain small group of women, but are truly pushing board diversity in every sense. We hope executive search firms, FTSE Board Chairs and other Directors are inspired by the rich talent we highlight, to look at gender diversity - including men - in a different way.”

Highlighting a ready talent pool

The 2019 Women to Watch supplement includes eminent women such as Sonita Alleyne OBE, the first black leader of an Oxbridge college, who is Master of Jesus College, Cambridge; Nishma Robb, Marketing Director at Google UK; Su-Mei Thompson, CEO of charity Media Trust; Hina Nagarajan, MD of African Emerging Markets for Diageo; Sonia Cargan, Chief Diversity Officer for American Express and Sandra Federighi, Global Chief Financial Officer for Stella McCartney.

Hina Nagarajan of Diageo, a company that is highlighted in the Female FTSE Board Report as having a significant number of women at all levels, says: “My own experience, through my career and of different organisations, has shown me the commercial power of a diverse leadership and workforce. Having women from different backgrounds in leadership roles not only creates the inspiration for the next generation, but also brings true representation of the consumer group any business must address. For me, having a diversity of backgrounds and of course, gender balance, will ensure a culture where everyone can do their best and enhance the winning potential of any organisation through powerful ideas and solutions.”

UK Boardrooms must tap into power of diversity

The Women to Watch supplement is supported this year by the Black British Business Awards and TNON, two organisations that champion diversity and inclusion.

Melanie Eusebe and Sophie Chandauka, Co-Founders of the Black British Business Awards, said: “In 2019, it is simply unacceptable for any FTSE 350 nomination committee to refer to the common refrain that there are no Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic (BAME) women on boards because the talent does not exist. Women of colour are often missing from the boardroom inclusion discourse, from the search firm shortlists and, ultimately, from the PLC board. The BBBAwards joins Cranfield University in this bold step to disrupt the status quo by declaring, through the profiles of these 50 impressive women, that BAME women of commercial excellence and tenure exist in substantial numbers.”

Diane Greenidge, Founder of TNON, said: “These inspiring women, already leaders in their respective fields, have the potential to bring the power of greater diversity to UK boardrooms. We join Cranfield University in urging businesses to realise the positive impact that women from a broader range of backgrounds can have on their success.”

The full version of the Women to Watch 2019 (authored by Dr Doyin Atewologun and Fatima Tresh) can be downloaded here, and the Female FTSE Board Report 2019 here. The Women to Watch supplement was introduced by Cranfield University's Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Centre in 2009.

The Women to Watch 2019 are:

1. Runa Alam
2. Sonita Alleyne OBE
3. June Angelides
4. Nancy Armand
5. Magdalene Bayim-Adomako
6. Nadja Bellan-White
7. Randa Bessiso
8. Nina Bhatia
9. Farmida Bi
10. Mary Boakye
11. Julia Brown
12. Sonia Cargan
13. Monica Chadha
14. Radhika Chadwick
15. Therese Chambers
16. Albertha Charles
17. Dr Binja Dasani
18. Kru Desai
19. Purvi Domadia
20. Maha El Dimachki
21. Dr Navina Evans
22. Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani
23. Sandra Federighi
24. Irvinder Goodhew
25. Tracey Harrison
26. Nnenna Ilomachina
27. Rob Knight
28. Fayola-Maria Jack
29. Rosalind Kainyah MBE
30. Suzan Kereere
31. Sarah Lee
32. Adeeba Malik CBE
33. Aruna Mehta
34. Hina Nagarajan
35. Tulsi Naidu
36. Priya Nair
37. Professor Irene Ng
38. Chinwe Odimba-Chapman
39. Ugo Ojike
40. Kathy-Ann Quashie
41. Jagdeep Rai
42. Nishma Robb
43. Roni Savage
44. Dame Nemat Minouche Shafik DBE
45. Kalpana Shah
46. Jacqueline Simmons
47. Su-Mei Thompson
48. Nilufer von Bismark OBE
49. Joy Warmington MBE
50. Jacky Wright

Notes on methodology

The inclusion criteria for the 2019 Women to Watch are:

• Holding or having held a senior office/appointment at board or ExCo level and/or senior executive of a Government agency or non-profit organisation
• Self-identifying as having, and/or having, evident African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Central or South American heritage
• Residing in the UK and/or working for a FTSE 350 or a UK Government agency/academic institution/health institution or major charity.

The exclusion criteria were:

• Women executive directors on the main board of a FTSE 100 company
• Women already holding a FTSE 350 non-executive director position

About Cranfield University

Cranfield is an exclusively postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management.

About Cranfield School of Management

Cranfield has been a world leader in management education and research for over 50 years, helping individuals and organisations learn and succeed by transforming knowledge into action. We are dedicated to creating responsible management thinking, improving business performance and inspiring the next generation of business leaders. We work to change the lives of our students and executives by encouraging innovation and creative thinking, as well as the drive to succeed and make a real impact on their organisations. Organisations as diverse as Jaguar Land Rover, BAE Systems, Royal Dutch Shell, L’Oréal, UNICEF and the African Development Bank have benefited from our work, which ranges from management research projects, through staff talent management development on our MBA courses, to customised executive programmes.

About the Black British Business Awards

The Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards) are the only premium awards programme to celebrate both the exceptional performance and outstanding achievements of black professionals and entrepreneurs in global, small and medium enterprises operating in Great Britain.

Over the last six years, it has grown into a powerful change agent for the wider BAME talent agenda, creating a hub where businesses share ideas and take away concrete actions to create working environments for all talented individuals to succeed.

The BBBAwards are designed to transcend stereotypes and highlight the often-unsung contributions of black people to the British economy.

For more information, visit https://www.thebbbawards.com/

About The Network of Networks BAME – Multicultural Chapter

The Network of Networks (TNON) BAME - Multicultural chapter was established in 2011 for the purpose of convening leaders of employee networks and resource groups to share best practices in order to help organisations to achieve the goal of increasing representation and advancement of ethnic minority talent throughout the talent pipeline. At its core, TNON is about developing effective future leaders and acknowledging the outstanding contribution that many network leaders make as thought leaders and change agents with respect to the diversity and inclusion agenda within their organisations.

For more information, visit http://www.tnongroup.com/

*For context, UK census data puts the BAME population at 14% but in London, where many FTSE 350 firms are based, statistics put it much higher, at more than 40%. Many FTSE firms are also international companies, and around 80% of the world’s population is estimated to be non-white.