Whilst there was broad agreement throughout the consultation process that positive steps to widen the pool of qualified candidates were needed, there we’re diametrically opposed views on how to achieve this and whether regulation was the only option.

The result, as expected was that Lord Davies stopped short of imposing quotas, unless the voluntary measures failed and instead called on boards to announce, in the next six months, their goals ““to ensure that more talented and gifted women”” get top jobs, requiring companies to disclose meaningful information about their appointment processes and how they deliver on diversity.

Anna Ford, the former broadcaster who now sits on the boards of J Sainsbury and N Brown is a vocal supporter of quotas, she thinks that, “women have waited long enough. We’re half the population, we’re not a disabled racial minority. We’re 52 per cent of the population and I think quotas are the only way forward now because I’ve been waiting for this for 40 years.”

But Miles Templeman, director-general of the Institute of Directors was nervous of “artificial” targets and of the threat of quotas if progress on targets was insufficient, “why would I set a target about the board make-up in terms of gender? I’d say I want the best board I can get.”

But for Julie Meyer, Founder and CEO of Ariadne Capital there are wider issues for discussion, “I don’t subscribe to things like targets and quotas because my whole life has been about building on rational self-interest.”

“I believe however that the Davies Report is a good, honest piece of work that will help to drive more female representation in the Board rooms of UK PLC. But the broader issue of women's leadership, roles and power in society - within the government, companies, families - is more interesting to me.”

“I believe that female entrepreneurs who grow large firms in new markets reaping massive rewards and earning enormous credibility due to their leadership and execution ability will ultimately create more change in how women are perceived in society. Sara Murray, founder of 4 companies, and CEO of highly successful Buddi - is a case in point. Anyone who has ever heard or seen Sara talk about markets, what she's doing, or where the opportunities are would put money behind her.  She is utterly backable.”

“The Davies Report also focuses on tactical measures without addressing - I believe - the longer term, more fundamental issue of how do we create women who have a high-level of confidence in their potential contribution to society.”

In a recent article for Management Today Julie discusses the why the Smart Money is on Women.

I recently presented at the MWomen initiative at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona which is backed by leading mobile operators and carriers who want to bring mobile technologies to women in the developing world, and found myself being posed questions along the lines of “when will we see gender parity?”, and “what can we do to advance women’s leadership?”

I also contributed to Lord Davies’ consultation of businesswomen for his Report on Women in Board Rooms which will be coming out later this week.

I work at the cross-section of two industries – technology and venture capital – which many would argue are male-dominated.    My investors, clients and team for 23 years have been mostly men.    What I’ve come to realise is that – yes, balance between the sexes in the work force brings out the best in us both, but the only way to achieve that is to appeal to rational self-interest.     Men only do what they think is in their interest.    So you have to very plainly prove to them that it is in their interest for women to have more power in society and in companies.

When men are in an exclusively male environment and faced with a woman joining – whether that’s a board room or a club, they worry that they’ll have to behave better.    No more jokes.    They won’t be able to act like little boys.    When women are in an all girls’ environment, they can lack the competitiveness and drive to make tremendous things happen.    They can also become catty.     Shake it up a bit, and you even it all out.   Everybody plays a better game.

I’ve seen all sorts of bad behaviour in the past 23 years of my career.    I’ve seen men treat their female colleagues and their PA’s in horrendous ways that have shocked me.   But what I have also noticed is that nearly all the time they speak about their daughters – you see a glimpse of what they want for them:   a world where their female protegeny can experience fairness and a respect for their contribution.

Put bluntly, you mess with their daughter, and you will earn their wrath.

I find that women tend to think more community, whether something works for the group much more naturally.

Men “get this” when it comes to their daughters.     It’s a much shorter hop for them to realise and internalise that everyone woman is someone’s daughter, and therefore, treat her with the respect you would want your own daughter to be afforded .

I’ve always worked for myself, so I don’t really know what it means to try to break through the glass ceiling.     I know that I have had a much more successful career because I set up my own structures rather than trying to convince people of my value to their organisations.     Over the past 23 years I’ve worked, I’ve seen more women achieve leadership in their industries and happiness in their lives by working for themselves rather than others.

This century will be the one where female strength is understood – it’s not a zero sum game.

The world is becoming feminine.    The implicit network-orientation to all business plays to our strengths to think group, network, community.    In a world where there are multiple centers of power, influence becomes dominant; control doesn’t work.    The multi-tasking ability that most women take for granted helps them excel in a world where we are getting pummelled with information constantly.

Like all change throughout history, the winners are those who get to the other side first.  There is no question that women will play greater leadership roles in countries, companies and in families in the 21st century.    I personally think that they will achieve their roles in the business community through successful entrepreneurship rather than climbing the corporate ranks.    I decided a long time ago to build my own cathedral rather than trying to break through the glass ceiling.

Any entrepreneur knows that you can’t win by playing by the rules of someone else’s game.   That’s what entrepreneurship is at its core:   assymetrical warfare.   Women will use entrepreneurship to achieve their ambitions.

Men, though too, have an equally subversive way to win.   “They” can embrace women’s leadership when perhaps they are only partially convinced.     Their gut may tell them that a lot is still to be worked out between managing families, managing workplace responsibilities etc.     “They”  may feel that boys will have to start behaving in the Board Rooms.    Or “they” may have had experiences with some outstanding women who worked very hard.  “They” may decide to support women in the workplace just because they want to create a world where their own daughters will not be held back.    “They” may even see a glimmer of the future millenials in the workplace – Generation Y – who have an uncanny resemblance to women of Generation X.    What may end up being in men’s rational self-interest is to relax into a world which is no longer zero sum – which is about helping each other raise our game.

My father always said to me, “it takes a very strong man to appreciate a strong woman.”     Let’s hope that we have very strong men indeed.   And that we all get to the other side together.

You can play this short or long, but the smart money is on women in the 21st century.

This article first appeared in Management Today

http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/1056011/MT-Special-women-help-men-raise-game/