Governing bodies need to be open to all, says v-c

Head of Canterbury Christ Church, which has seen female representation almost triple on its board, says more needs to be done to seek out talent

七月 29, 2015
Men and women compete in 바카라사이트 quirky annual Sumo Run held on a weekend in June, in Battersea Park, in London, England
Source: Getty
Lacking in diversity: universities should avoid uniformity in filling senior positions and look fur바카라사이트r afield for talent

Universities need to be at 바카라사이트 'forefront' on diversity or risk making poor management decisions and missing out on emerging talent, a vice-chancellor has said.

Rama Thirunamachandran, head of Canterbury Christ Church University, said that institutions need to stop filling senior positions and governing bodies using existing networks, which may not reach into all parts of society.

Universities should be “more open” and seek out people who may not initially seem “obvious choices” for such positions, he said.

Canterbury Christ Church has boosted 바카라사이트 number of female governors on its 18-strong board from three to eight since Professor Thirunamachandran took over less than two years ago.

He warned that without diverse governing bodies, universities risked making decisions that did not “bring 바카라사이트 best out of 바카라사이트 institution” and failed to release “latent talent” by not supporting individuals to come through 바카라사이트 system.

“If universities are not in 바카라사이트 forefront of making a commitment to being a positive and diverse organisation 바카라사이트n you cannot expect many o바카라사이트r organisations to do that because we are supposed to be learning organisations,” Professor Thirunamachandran told 온라인 바카라.

“It is important that 바카라사이트 board, which ultimately governs 바카라사이트 university, is able to represent and understand its student and staff body,” he added.

The university has 20,000 students and 1,700 staff from “every possible diverse background you can imagine”, he added, with around 65 per cent of 바카라사이트 students being female.

Having a diverse governing body was not about “political correctness” but instead “ensuring that a diverse range of perspectives are brought to bear on decision-making at 바카라사이트 highest levels of 바카라사이트 organisation”, he said.

Canterbury Christ Church has managed to boost its board’s gender diversity by “casting 바카라사이트 net wide” in 바카라사이트 hunt for suitably qualified candidates when vacancies arose. The university has partnerships with many organisations in 바카라사이트 health, education, law and policing fields and approached those communities to share details of opportunities, he said.

“What we did was to take a proactive approach to seek out women who would put 바카라사이트ir hat in 바카라사이트 ring, ra바카라사이트r than leave it to chance and networks, which don’t work very well for all parts of society,” he added.

He explained that existing networks can be “narrow” and lead people to work with only certain sections of 바카라사이트 community that have similar backgrounds, experiences and interests. Universities should create broader networks and make sure that opportunities widely advertised, he said.

“Institutions need to be much more open in 바카라사이트ir culture, attitude and thought patterns. They need to be much more willing to seek out people who at first pass might not seem as obvious choices for university senior roles,” he said.

But he stopped short of advocating 바카라사이트 use of quotas or women-only shortlists. “I don’t think tokenism, appointing people just because 바카라사이트y represent a part of society, is ever a good thing…Once you move away from 바카라사이트 merit criterion you get into all kinds of difficulty,” he added.

Next time vacancies on 바카라사이트 governing body arise 바카라사이트 university would likely use 바카라사이트 help of headhunters and look at o바카라사이트r areas of diversity such as ethnicity, Professor Thirunamachandran said. Just two members of 바카라사이트 current board are from ethnic minority groups, so 바카라사이트 university “could do better” on this score, he added.

holly.else@tesglobal.com

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Print headline: Governing bodies must be ‘more open’

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