THE EVOLUTION OF WOMEN INTO THE BOARDROOM AND
SENIOR LEADERSHIP ROLES
The headlines currently grabbing attention in the sphere of
Women in Leadership is a real concern in relation to ‘how do
we get more women on to Boards.’ This in turn creates a lively
debate between the effectiveness of quota’s (compliance)
and targets (evolutionary) for achieving this goal.
and ‘ethical cultures’ which are the daily fodder for
media headlines, with potentially massive impacts on
an organisations reputation and for which Boards have
a clear role in setting the tone and sensitivity across the
whole organisation.
This reflects a commercial world where Boardrooms are
having to put more energy and attention into the real
world issues of ‘consumerism’, ‘environmental impact’
This is the real prize, a fundamental change in the flow of
women into senior leadership roles and onto the Board.
This increased focus on the topic is clearly underpinned
by the well-researched benefits of women’s participation
in the Board process; namely dealing more effectively with
risk, better able to address the concerns of customers,
employees, shareholders, and communities, a focus on
long-term priorities, with women directors more likely to
be in tune with women’s needs than men when developing
successful products and services.
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However, as important as this immediate debate is, a
more fundamental question is answered if we define
achievement of Women In Leadership equality as a
successful longer term ‘sea change’ in the levels of women
on Executive Management Committees and in Senior
Leadership roles. This ‘sea change’ will provide the
sustainable ‘supply’ of women to Boardrooms as the seed
corn for a selection process based on merit thus avoiding
the debilitating effect of a ‘tokenism’ label.
The Evolution of Women into the Boardroom and Senior Leadership Roles
Article by Helen Pitcher
9/19/13 10:08 AM