Women on Boards
WOMEN ON BOARDS
Having women represented on corporate boards adds incredible value to a company yet it remains a big challenge. According to the Forum of Executive Women’s most recent research, from 2016 to 2017, overall board seats held by women in the Philadelphia region only grew from 16% to 17% and out of the 100 companies surveyed, 18 still did not have any women on their boards. While this issue is getting more attention (California recently passed a controversial law mandating that every publicly traded company based in the state will need at least one woman on the board by the end of 2019) we just aren’t seeing the advances we should be.
From my experience on the board on both corporate and non-profit boards, I’ve learned a great deal about board service, corporate governance, and why it’s so important to have women in the room. Recently, I’ve been asked by many women how they can prepare themselves to serve on a board, so I’m happy to share my advice here. I hope that I can play a small role in encouraging more women to stretch themselves and prepare for this next challenge in their professional lives.
Develop Your Relevant Experience
Currently, 43% of the 100 largest public companies in the region still conduct business with all-male leadership teams and out of 625 total executives, only 15% are women. Being able to operate at the executive level is probably the most important consideration for joining a corporate board, especially a Fortune 500 board. If serving on a board is a goal for you, advancing your career into the C-suite (CEO, CFO, COO) is a great way to prepare.
Focus on enhancing your leadership capabilities and scope of experience. Develop your skill sets to manage people, manage operations, make big decisions and especially have financial acumen, which is critical to understanding the finances of a company.
Understand Board Service
It’s really important to seek out opportunities to understand what board service means so that if you are approached — and oftentimes you’re going to be approached unexpectedly, as I was — you understand what it means to serve on a corporate board and what you would be expected to do. If you do your homework, you can give an answer in that moment versus saying, “let me go back and do some research.” I think the key is that you never really know when a conversation will lead to an opportunity, so be prepared in advance.
There are many resources for continuing education; such as Women Corporate Directors and universities that offer courses and conferences on corporate governance. I participated in a program called Women on Board in Philadelphia before I was approached by Comcast. I also took a three-day course at Stanford University, the Directors’ Consortium, that was incredibly helpful to me.
Position Yourself
It’s important to know what skills are most valued by boards, and then be able to articulate how your experience fills those needs. For me, it was my experience in Operations that attracted Comcast to me. Learn what sorts of challenges corporations are facing and position yourself to help solve them. For example, if you are a CIO, you can fill the gaps in a board’s understanding of the cyber security challenges their company faces. If you have served as a Chief Human Resources Officer, you can provide much needed guidance on succession planning and executive compensation. Be sure to create a Board Bio highlighting your relevant achievements and strategically emphasizing the experience that will be valuable to a board. Additionally, many boards are looking for prospective board members who are diverse. This is a bit of a problem since there is a lack of representation of women and other minorities in C-suite roles, especially CEO’s.
Tap into Your Network – Especially Your Female Network
If you have aspirations of joining a corporate board, tell another woman who is on a board. One thing I have noticed is that once you get on a corporate board, the flood gates open because they know you have experience. When I have to turn down an opportunity, I always recommend someone else – and always a woman who has told me that she’s interested in serving on a board. Make it a priority to network with board members, and put it out there that you’re looking.
How to Find Time
Many women I speak with often worry that board service will add too much to their plate. I have been clear that my day job as President and CEO at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is my absolute priority. I limit my board service to a reasonable number of boards and a reasonable time commitment without a lot of travel. For example, the meetings for the Federal Reserve Board of Philadelphia are within a mile or so of my office, and are limited to a few hours on a particular day. To serve on the Comcast board here in Philadelphia and the Children’s Hospital Association board in Washington, DC, as well as my other nonprofit boards, is similarly convenient. Choose a board that requires only what you can give.
Despite all of the benefits that board service brings for women, in my experience, when you’re the minority in the room you do have to work harder to prepare and be part of the conversation and to feel comfortable jumping in. I probably spend more time that I need to preparing for board meetings and reviewing materials. There have been times when the board has turned to me and asked how something might be viewed as a woman. While it does point out that you’re different than the others in the room and creates the added pressure of having to speak for half of the population, I think it’s great that corporate boards are asking for that advice and seeing the value diversity in the boardroom can bring for shareholders and corporate culture more broadly.