/ 29 October 2006

Carroll’s appointment to Anglo ‘encouraging’

The appointment of Cynthia Carroll as chief executive of Anglo American marks a step in the right direction for equality in Britain’s boardrooms as women struggle to break through the glass ceiling, analysts said.

The global mining giant, which is registered in Britain but operates mainly in South Africa, announced last week that 49-year-old Carroll would replace Tony Trahar on March 1 2007, ending the group’s year-long hunt for a new boss.

Carroll, who described her new job as “a very, very exciting opportunity”, will become only the third woman chief executive of a company traded on London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares, joining Marjorie Scardino of British publisher Pearson and Dorothy Thompson of power-plant company Drax.

“Anglo American is a world class mining company. It’s got an outstanding asset base, that has been developed and grown over the years,” said Carroll, who as a United States citizen will be also Anglo American’s first non-South African chief executive.

Her appointment meanwhile came as official data revealed the wage gap between male and female bosses was widening in Britain.

The Office for National Statistics said last week that the top 10% of women earners saw their pay grow by 3,1% in the year to April 2006 compared with the previous year, while men’s increased by 4,5%.

Sexist attitudes were still prevalent in the corporate world, according to Equal Opportunities Commission chairperson Jenny Watson.

“Our old fashioned inflexible approach to working long hours, and in particular lack of flexibility at the top, is one of the main factors preventing women from breaking through the glass ceiling,” Watson said.

“Far too many women are forced to trade down in order to balance work and family responsibilities.”

Mother-of-four Carroll has proved an exception and her selection was to be applauded, according to Val Singh, an academic at Cranfield University specialising in women business leaders.

“It’s very encouraging to see a woman appointed in this most masculine of industries,” she said.

“Of the three female chief executives in the FTSE 100, two are in these very masculine environments, with Dorothy Thompson of Drax being the other one.”

The arrival of a woman in the traditionally male-dominated arena of mining was given a cautious welcome by the media.

London’s Guardian newspaper noted that it was ten years since Pearson became the first FTSE 100 firm to appoint a woman, Scardino, as chief executive, while Drax joined the index earlier this year.

“At this rate of progress it will be another 150 years before there is a roughly even split between men and women at the top of our big companies,” the daily added.

The slow pace of change in British boardrooms is in stark contrast to Norway.

By the end of 2007, Norwegian companies must ensure that 40% of management boards are made up of women, or they face being shut down, following a new law introduced on January 1 2006.

In Britain meanwhile, 22 companies or almost a quarter of the FTSE 100, had boards of directors without any female members in 2005, according to Cranfield University research.

Anglo American has prised Carroll away from Canadian aluminium giant Alcan, where she had served 18 years, including five as president and chief executive of its primary metals arm.

The incoming Anglo American boss began her career in the oil industry — something common among top female executives, according to Singh.

Prior to joining Alcan, Carroll had spent six years working for Amoco — the US energy group that merged with BP in 1998 — as a senior petroleum geologist in gas and oil exploration.

“If you look at the Fortune list of the 50 most powerful women, there are usually several from BP, Shell and other oil companies,” Singh said.

“There’s something about having that scientific and engineering training where these women are used to being women in a men’s world where gender ceases to be such an issue.

She added: “Women in these very masculine industries are minorities before they’ve even left school.”

A grounding in petrochemicals also gave them strong handling of mathematics and provided a wider global view of the world, Singh added.

Carroll won the job despite speculation that the position would go to Frenchman Philippe Varin, chief executive of Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus, which is currently facing a friendly takeover from India’s Tata Steel.

On London’s second-tier FTSE 250 index, seven companies are run by women, including the London Stock Exchange, fashion retailer Burberry, media group Trinity Mirror and video games specialist Sci Entertainment.

The others are bookshop chain WHSmith, electronics outfit Premier Farnell and Northern Foods. – AFP