The issue of woman on boards is complex. On the one hand, many women do not wish to be singled out just for their gender but on the other hand, it is widely acknowledged that there is not enough diversity on boards. What is also starting to be recognised is that there are many, many suitably qualified woman for board positions. 

Jane Allen, Principal at Egon Zehnder International, in her article Women on Boards: Why would you do it? discusses the various debates that surround the idea of putting more women on boards including those of diversity, performance, political correctness, solidarity and unity through gender, good corporate governance and so on and she puts it well.  Ms Allen also points out the following strong correlations:

"...there is new evidence that diverse boards may improve corporate governance. A recent study by the Conference Board of Canada tracked corporations and found that those with two or more women on the board in 1995 were far more likely to be industry leaders in revenues and profits six years later, in 2001.

In another study Catalyst, a leading research and advisory organisation, recently released the results of a new study of 353 Fortune 500 companies. They were able to demonstrate a direct link between corporate performance and gender diversity. The group of companies with the largest number of women in senior management had a 36% higher return on investment than the quartile with the lowest female representation . Yet another 19 year old study of 215 Fortune 500 firms shows a strong link between the promotion of women into leadership positions and high profitability."

Importantly, Ms Allen argues that the key element is diversity and not just gender. Diversity is about different experiences, skills, viewpoints, perspectives, talents, ideas among others.

In a Management Today article by Jocelyn Biddle entitled What Women Want, she says, "In Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership by Alice Eagly and Linda Carli (Harvard Business School Publishing, September 2007), the authors conclude that it's not the glass ceiling that is obstructing women's career progression, rather the sum of many obstacles along the way. Prejudice, resistance to female leadership, leadership style issues and family demands are all career barriers encountered by women." 

Traditionally, board members have been targetted from existing senior social circles and networks and ex-CEO's and with women being a minority in these, it is not hard to see why they are under represented. However, times are changing.   In the past, it has been easy for chairmen to say that it is 'too hard to find suitably qualified women'.  But now, that is not the case because more and more funds and support is being ploughed into providing helpful and appropriate resources. And boards are being slowly educated into thinking about the future and not the past. The 'stale, pale, frail, male' candidate is slowly being replaced by the 30+, up-and-coming, forward thinking male or female.

One example of an accessible resource for women is the Women on Boards organisation. "The Women on Boards network was started in 2001 by a group of businesswomen ... Their objective was to help women get selected for board positions in Australia. Directors from private, public, government and sports boards supported the initiative as did the following professional women's organisations: National Foundation of Australian Women, Women in Finance, Women in IT, Women Lawyers, Zonta International, Women Sport and Recreation Foundation for Australian Agricultural Women."  One of the key aspects of Women on Boards is that it provides a mechanism for boards to search their online database of over 5000 possible board candidates as well as providing boards with the opportunity to post a board vacancy notice.

Another example is the Australian government's AppointWomen initiative. "AppointWomen is a free, confidential on-line registration system that gives women an opportunity to be considered for appointment to a variety of Australian Government boards and decision-making bodies. It is managed by the Australian Government Office for Women." Many of the states and territory governments also have similar 'women on board' programmes with varying levels of sophistication.

It is clear too that it is a two-way street. Women shouldn't be waiting to be asked to take up a board position, they should be proactive. This means networking (something women have generally struggled with for a variety of reasons including the fact that they are usually running the family home when not at work), seeking out and using resources such as those mentioned above, attending appropriate forums and seminars and keeping up-to-date with trends.  Even more importantly, women who strive to take on board positions need to market and promote themselves along the way.

Michelle Jansen
29 April 2008