The Women in Business Council (WBC) has announced that Cilla Snowball CBE, Group Chairman and Chief Executive of AMV BBDO, will be taking over as their new Chair.
Snowball will replace the previous Chair of the Women in Business Council, Baroness McGregor-Smith, who has stepped down from her role after four years.
Baroness McGregor-Smith will continue to support the Women in Business Council and is currently leading a review into the barriers faced by Black and Minority Ethnic people in the workforce with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
Snowball will also sit on the Advisory Group of the Hampton Alexander Review. The review will make recommendations and work with the business community to improve the representation of women at both a boardroom level and below a board level, in FTSE 350 companies.
Snowball said, “I am delighted to be appointed new Chair of the Women’s Business Council and I’m looking forward to joining forces with the Hampton-Alexander Review to increase the number of women leading our businesses.”
“The refreshed Council will now extend its reach across more sectors than ever before; providing valuable insight into how to tackle the barriers to women’s progression and shining a light on the benefits to business of harnessing the skills, experience and talents of women throughout industry.”
Currently there are over 2.4 million women who are not in the work but want to work. The Council has suggested by gaining gender equality in the labour force that the GDP could grow by 30 per cent by 2030. The Women’s Business Council was created in 2012 with the aim of advising the Government on how women can contribute to business further. The Council aims to focus on the areas with the greatest potential economic benefit.