Safety on the “naughty step”

London Stock Exchange chief executive Julia Hoggett leads us to ponder big philosophical questions this week, such as when is the naughty step not a naughty step?

The Financial Times reports that Hoggett was at one of its conference’s and once again drew attention to the success of her campaign to raise executive pay levels in the UK.

Rising CEO pay levels in the UK this year have prompted some campaigners to call for a “maximum wage“. And, while pay levels are rising, it is not without opposition.

At the conference, Hoggett noted that remcos feel more secure offering big pay rises because they’re all in it together. “If one of your children is on the naughty step it is a naughty step, but if all of your children are on the naughty step, it is a play date.” She added: “It changes the mindset about the approach.”

Reminds us of all of the time we spent drilling into our kids: “Just because Julia did something bad, doesn’t mean you have to. You’ve got a brain.” But that’s just us.

Stagnation creation

Over in the US, progress on gender diversity on company boards “showed signs of stagnation”, according to researchers at Equilar.

News female directors accounting for only 22.2% of appointing across Russell 3000 board, the “lowest percentage recording” in the history of Equilar’s Gender Diversity Index. In 2021 the figure was as high as 47.7% – within sight of appointment parity.

Equilar says: “Several factors may be contributing to the slower progress observed this year. Limited board turnover continues to restrict the number of available seats, while ongoing market conditions may lead boards to prioritise candidates with previous board experience, which can limit changes in board composition.

“Pipeline dynamics remain an ongoing factor, as women are still underrepresented in senior executive roles that most often feed into board position. Additionally, companies that have already increased representation in recent years may be experiencing a slowdown in incremental gains when it comes to new appointments and moving beyond thresholds.” Can’t help wondering which one of these is code for the President doesn’t like DE & I.

Status anxiety

Staying in the US, Reuters writes that proxy advisor Glass Lewis is considering a change in status to get critics off its back.

Proxies have been under attack because many politicians believe they hold too much power through their voting recommendations, especially over sustainability-related issues. It’s far too “woke”, apparently and politicians and regulators alike have been looking at ways to curtain their influence.

Reuters reports Cheryl Gustitus, Glass Lewis chief strategy officer, saying “we’re seriously considering registration as an investment advisor”.

It’s not yet clear whether that will get the haters off their back but Reuters adds new chief executive Bob Mann has been trying to “recast” the proxy’s role. Fingers crossed.