I was pleased to see your article The problem with quotas' (Accountancy, May, p22) discussing the Davies Report and its implications for the profession. The article was right to insist that recruitment has to be fair and I was impressed with the support for diversity in accountancy, in particular its acknowledgement of the research that points towards its benefits. It was disappointing however, that the use of research stopped there, especially regarding what quotas would mean for the profession in the UK. Research in Norway examining the impact of the introduction of quotas at board level (Seierstad, 2011) suggests that it has been business as usual. Instead of the inevitable prediction made in the article, talented individuals would be overlooked in favour of unworthy candidates. The research indicates the opposite was true; quotas promoted talented individuals by squeezing out mediocre men in favour of excellent women.
展开▼
