Strategies for change

Change brother- lets change

Change can happen but it needs to be created. 

While women are poorly represented on Boards, once they do secure a directorship, women are fairly well placed to promote diversity. Boards may typically include:

• executive/strategic
• nominating
• compensation
• audit
• financial
• CSR/public responsibility

In a couple of studies, done 20 years apart (1988, 2008), women were found to be most likely to serve on the Nominating, Audit and, CSR Committees. The Nominating Committee is well positioned to: 

• re-define the pool of eligible directors
• reconsider the eligibility criteria so that, for example, women who have other than senior management experience are given the opportunity to serve as directors;
• consider qualified women from inside the corporation for board subcommittee involvement as a proving ground for their abilities.

But, an area as yet untapped as a resource for boards may lie in female led owned businesses. Fifteen years ago , in the US women owned 6.5 billion businesses constituting 28% of business, accounting for $951b in sales. 25% of 3000 family managed businesses indicated that their next CEO would be a woman. 

Is that merely a nod to the God of Diversity?

No.

Female owned businesses are nearly twice as productive as their male counterparts.

There are other strategies for women aspiring to a corporate directorship. Remember yesterday's post? Women at senior levels in the voluntary and public sector were also sought out by evergreen committees and by nominating committees. In fact, female community leaders make up 27% of corporate directorships whereas male community leaders represent 12.6% of directorships. 

Consider also the strategic needs of the corporate sector-and particularly corporations which may be in trouble. In one study, 19 female board appointments for time of appointment and business sector were compared to 19 male board appointments. After comparing the annual stock performance of all 38 corporations, it was found that women were often appointed to leadership positions "under problematic organizational circumstance associated with a greater risk of failure and criticism". Therefore, one might conclude that corporations faced with certain problems may be well advised to recruit women. 

Corporations might want to try to be proactive in advancing the cause of gender diversity. The National Bank introduces its diversity policy statement by declaring 

• Diversity is critical. Female nominees are to fill 50% of all directorships that become vacant.

Governments too (!!) have a role in advocacy and can also promote diversity. While the imposition of quotas for Crown Corporations, Agencies, Boards and Commissions, so often troubled, accused of mismanagement and generally not transparent, might consider recruiting women to their ranks by assigning quotas. But, Governments might also want to consider quotas for publicly traded corporations. The normal rate of percentage increase for female directors in any country was 1% or less in years prior to quotas> What quotas have accomplished in these same countries has led to an increase in gender diversity than previously seen.