Powering Corporate Boards with Women

A strong board of directors is a key determinant of an organization’s success. They are the driving force behind critical decision-making and how an organization runs. There is much research stating that diverse boards help companies improve financial performance and outpace peer companies.

The survey conducted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that moving from zero women in leadership (including C-suite positions and board membership) to 30% translates into a 15% increase in profitability for a typical organization. Additionally, the survey uncovered that companies with more women in leadership generated an ROI of 10.1% compared to those without that diversity only achieving 7.4%.

According to Catalyst’s research published on March 13, 2020, “women need to hold at least three board seats to create a “critical mass,” which can lead to better financial performance.” The research revealed that companies having this “critical mass” for a minimum of 4-5 years outperformed other firms on return on sales (ROS) by 84%, on return on invested capital (ROIC) by 60%, and return on equity (ROE) by 46%.

In the United States, the State of California is the first state to introduce a requirement for diversity of boards. The bill, signed in 2018, requires all publicly held corporations whose principal offices are based in California to have at least one woman board member by the end of 2019. That number is expected to rise to a minimum of two to three women board members, depending on the size of the corporation by the end of 2021. We are strong supporters of this expanded state regulation!

We are very excited to support an initiative that helps prepare qualified executive women to fill board seats and truly take a seat on that table. We are proud to be co-sponsors of the Women’s Corporate Board Readiness (WCBR) program with Santa Clara University’s Silicon Valley Executive Center.

The WCBR program provides a rigorous curriculum that prepares women to be competitive for board seats and offers a supportive and ongoing community of peers. The program’s faculty of highly successful women with board experience will work over 4 days to provide essential legal, regulatory, and operating knowledge, leadership coaching and advice to help attendees develop a personalized action plan to seek and obtain a board directorship that aligns with their career goals.

Additionally, attendees will receive 4 hours of 1:1 coaching and be a part of an ongoing community to help obtain their first or next board seat. After the program, attendees will have the chance to meet regularly with others from previous cohorts and Center staff for ongoing discussion and support, and learn from presentations by guest speakers. There is no additional cost involved for this “indefinite” support.

This program starts on October 1, 2020. We will be announcing the upcoming spring 2021 program dates soon! For more information, please click here.

Stage 4 Solutions referrals receive a 20% discount – please use code Stage4friends at the checkout.