The number of women directors on boards is paltry relative to
the number of male directors--only 13.6 percent of Fortune 500
board seats are held by women, according to a 2003 report by
Catalyst, an advisory organization working to advance women in
business. Vicki Kramer, an executive committee member for InterOrganization
Network, a fast-growing group of six executive business
organizations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and
Philadelphia, says women can benefit from sitting on boards:
"You learn about your own business by trying to think
strategically about another business. You also get access to
[potential] customers and suppliers. It's an opportunity to
learn and network."
So why the disparity? "Men are generally accorded higher
status and women lower status," explains Erika Hayes James,
professor at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the
University of Virginia in Charlottesville. James says men's
high status can lead to a perception that they're more
competent in business.
InterOrganization Network, or ION, is looking to change the
statistics. They've come together to increase the number of
women on corporate boards and in executive positions in major
public companies. To become member organizations of ION, each group
first conducted regional studies on the status of women in
corporate positions and on boards--so far, some regional results
have been lower than the national average.
Content Continues Below
According to Kramer, ION's sister organizations have
hundreds of members qualified to sit on boards, and the committee
is urging companies to use ION to find these women. While the
number of women sitting on nonprofit boards is higher than on
corporate boards, Kramer points out there are still very few women
on the boards of the largest nonprofit organizations.
Nonprofit boards may be good training for corporate board
service, but they aren't direct stepping-stones, says Sara K.
Gould, president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for
Women, a national women's philanthropy organization based
in New York City. "Corporate boards and CEOs just don't
look at the nonprofit sector [when] they think of recruiting new
members. But it's clearly easier for women to reach board
membership in nonprofits."
Lauren Smith, co-chair of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based
Women Executive Leadership Census Committee, which has
recently looked at the status of women in board positions in
Florida, suggests that to increase your odds of being considered
for a board, you can do the following:
1. Conduct a professional selfassessment. What important
skills and experience do you bring to the party?
2. Package yourself. Create a board-oriented bio--not a
resume--that summarizes your qualifications for sitting on a
board.
3. Be visible. Take on leadership positions that will
create positive visibility for you. Communicate your interest to
those with contacts at the company boards you seek.
"Women need to have a stronger voice in business,"
says Smith. "We don't have enough of a voice in corporate
boardrooms where critical decisions are made about how business
gets done."
Aliza
Pilar Sherman is an author, freelance writer and speaker
specializing in women's issues.