n WOMEN ON BOARDS
T
o understand how California’s corporate boards
have changed, one local research project is both a
yardstick and a symbol. In 2005, UC Davis Grad-
uate School of Management researchers began
looking at the participation of women in cor-
porate leadership at the largest publicly traded companies
headquartered in the state.
The first year that the study included a comparable num-
ber of companies across years was 2006. That year, women
held fewer than 9 percent of board seats at the 400 companies
assessed. By 2015, that had grown to more than 13 percent.
Were that rate to hold, women would reach parity on those
boards in 2099.
But the school won’t be tracking that evolution if it hap-
pens: 2015 would be the last year of the project. Over the
years, no donor had stepped forward to cover the $15,000
cost. The faculty who strongly supported it had moved on,
and school leaders were concerned that the results weren’t
peer reviewed. But there was another reason, says Donald
Palmer, a GSM professor who managed the project until
2013: “Year in and year out, the results looked pretty much
the same,” he says. “At some point, it ceased to be news.”
Senate Bill 826, passed easily by the state Legislature in
August 2018, aims to change that. By January 2020, publicly
traded companies headquartered in California must have a
minimum of one woman on their boards of directors and two
or three by January 2022, depending on board size. The pen-
alties for not complying are serious: $100,000 on the first of-
fense and $300,000 for the second and subsequent violations.
The law drew national attention, praised by advocates
of gender diversity in corporate leadership. Of the 621
state-headquartered companies that are also traded on ma-
jor stock exchanges, 29 percent have all-male boards, ac-
cording to research from San Diego’s Board Governance Re-
search. That pencils out to 1,060 seats that need to be filled
by women by 2022. However, a potential legal challenge to
the law could drop that number to at most 208, according
to research from Stanford University’s Rock Center for Cor-
porate Governance (see sidebar, page 71). Regardless of the
numbers, getting into position to be invited onto a corporate
board is a steep road for any executive. So how do qualified
women rise to the top? It won’t be easy.
WHY BOARD SEATS ARE HARD TO LAND
In 2009, Kim Box left Hewlett-Packard, where she’d spent
19 years leading technology teams — her last role was vice
president of global IT services. (She’s currently president
and CEO of Gatekeeper Innovation, where she’s been since
LIVE CONFIDENTLY!
“Complete planning
for your life and
your future, not just
investments.
WESTLAKE, GRAHL, AND GLOVER
A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
9265 Sierra College Blvd. | Granite Bay, CA 95746
WGGAdvisorGroup.com │ 916.677.1640
WESTLAKE, GRAHL, AND GLOVER. A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise
Financial Services Inc. The Compass is a trademark of Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Investment advisory services and products are made available through Ameriprise
Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment advisor. 1404507ACMR1118
70
comstocksmag.com | March 2019
That’s where we
come in.”