New CBI President Makes Diversity a Key Issue - Building Gender Balanced Business

• This week Helen Alexander, the former Chief Executive of the Economist Group, became the first woman to be President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in its 44-year history.

• In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Alexander confirmed her commitment to boardroom diversity. She said: “I think there are all sorts of people we need to get more of into business. If you look at it in terms of class, race, gender, there are lots of opportunities not to waste talent and that is what it is all about: making clear that talent has a place to play in business.”

• Alexander indicated that increasing diversity would be one of her main aims for her two-year tenure at the CBI.

• “There is still, for instance, a shocking lack of women in top positions in British business. Making sure you have the right balance of skills and teams is really important. If you have a good management team in business it is generally one that includes lots of points of view — and that is likely to mean they come from different backgrounds.”

The Guardian article, Friday, June 5, 2009.