Forcing companies to put a minimum number of women on boards in European nations would be a “mistake”, the government’s boardroom diversity champion has warned in response to a European Commision proposal to impose mandatory quotas. Lord Davies of Abersoch admitted the move “raises the temperature” on companies failing to embrace calls to recruit more women directors but insisted self-regulation was still “the right way”...“[Ms Reding’s (European Union justice commissioner's) decision]doesn’t surprise me, but clearly we would be disappointed [if quotas were introduced],” said Lord Davies, whose government-backed report last year set a target for a minimum of 25 per cent female board representation in the FTSE 100 by 2015 but stopped short of compulsory measures...Some equality campaigners fear companies have stepped up female non-executive appointments as a figleaf to meet Lord Davies’s targets, while dragging their feet on appointing women to top management posts. [refers to Glencore, Rio Tinto, Anglo American]