A group of the UK’s leading headhunters has committed to providing long lists where at least 30% of the prospective candidates are women.   The code, drawn up by 20 executive search firms, also puts a new focus on ‘skills’ such as good judgment and perceptiveness, rather than just focusing on experience, to allow for a wider selection of candidates.

The UK hasn't adopted quotas. Instead Lord Davies, who carried out a Government review on women on boards this year, called for the UK's leading companies to have at least 25% female board member representation by 2015.

But The European Union is watching closely. The EU is broadly in favour of mandatory targets. This month the European parliament passed a resolution which called for legislation across the EU ensuring that at least 40% of board positions would be reserved for women.

So it's an exciting time for women. A time for change and action. A time to inform the debate and influence that positive change. A time for each and everyone of us do what we can. To tell all that having more women in senior management is not only fair (we do represent 50% of the population) but makes business sense (having 30% or more women on the board has been proven to significantly increase profits). The business case is clear cut. We just need to get the right people to listen.

Sandra