1. Introduction 

The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 was introduced to help address the historic and persistent underrepresentation of women in public life. 

Section 1 of the Act sets the “gender representation objective” for a public board that 50% of non-executive members are women. The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) is listed as one of the public authorities in schedule 1 of the Act.  As such, WICS is required to report on the gender representation of the Board every 2 years.

The ‘Appointing Person’ as stated in the statutory guidance as responsible for appointments to the WICS' board is Scottish Ministers.

This report covers the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2023 and provides information on WICS' Board membership and appointment arrangements.

2. WICS Board membership

WICS’ Board comprises four non-executive members and the Chief Executive.

The recruitment exercise for WICS’ Board members is run by the Scottish Government’s public

appointment team with support from WICS’ Scottish Government Sponsor department. 

Appointments are for fixed terms of up to four years with the possibility of re-appointment, subject to evidence of effective performance and satisfying the skills, knowledge and personal qualities required on the Board at the time of re-appointment. Details of WICS’ Board appointments are outlined in the table below.

The gender representation of WICS' Board during the period 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023 was: