The Institute of Directors Bermuda and Deloitte Bermuda are to celebrate International Women’s Day by hosting the panel discussion ‘Women in the Boardroom’.

The virtual presentation will be held Thursday from 9am until 10.30am.

“While Bermuda has seen an increase in board gender diversity, the process has been slower than many would like,” says Danielle Riviere, IoD executive director.

“In recognition of International Women’s Day, #BreakTheBias, the panel will discuss what steps women can consider to be eligible to join boards, perspectives from a non-executive director, the value of male allies and challenges of increasing boardroom diversity.”

Rachelle Frisby, partner, financial advisory at Deloitte Bermuda, will moderate and be joined by panellists: Claudia Philipsz-Jones, managing director, Cayman and group, head of business development, Expertise Group; Pauline Richards, chief operating officer of Trebuchet Group Holdings Limited; and Lloyd Holder, chief information security officer at SiriusPoint and the IoD Bermuda diversity and inclusion board ambassador and moderator.

Ms Riviere added: “Across the world we have seen an increase in women holding top executive and board positions, but there is a long way to go before we see true gender diversity at these levels.

“We must continue to promote gender equality and encourage ongoing discussions and learning opportunities focused on diversity and inclusion.”

She said the session will provide an opportunity for participants to learn more about how they can be a part of increasing the number of women in the boardroom.

Ms Frisby said: “The under representation of women on boards remains a key area of focus for organisations globally, but overall progress remains slow, and for women in leadership positions, even slower.”

She said the Deloitte report titled ‘Women in the boardroom: A global perspective’ reviews 10,493 companies in 51 countries and highlights that just under 20 per cent of board seats are held by women, an increase of just 2.8 percentage points in two years.

Ms Frisby said: “If this rate of change were to continue every two years, we could expect to reach something near parity in 2045. In Bermuda we fall under the average.

“In addition, only 2.6 per cent of board chairs and five per cent of CEOs in Bermuda are female. The most diverse boards still tend to be found at women-led companies at the executive or board levels. We will likely see the debate about diversity in the boardroom continue to rage for some time to come.”

To register or learn more about the panel, see www.iod.bm/events or e-mail info@iod.bm.

Visitors can also learn more about other upcoming events including a presentation of PwC’s 2021 annual corporate directors survey (US) on March 29 from 9.30am until 10.30am.