The Herman Trend Alert

June 17, 2015

Women in the Boardroom

Recently, more attention has been paid to the issue of creating more gender-balanced corporate boards of directors. Studies have demonstrated that having board members with diverse backgrounds leads to "an inclusive and collaborative environment that is essential to good governance, better financial performance, increased innovation and improvements in opportunities for women". This Herman Trend Alert reports the results of a recent study from Equilar, the organization that helps companies accurately benchmark and track executive and board compensation and other important issues.

Some Progress has been made

Looking at the data for companies in the current S&P 1500 index, the researchers analyzed company director data for gender diversity between 2007 and 2014. During that period, the largest companies realized the least gains; the percentage of female board members at S&P 500 companies, the largest companies surveyed, grew from 14.5 percent to 18.1, an almost 25 percent increase. At the same time, due to the smaller percentages they were starting from, the S&P 400 MidCap companies had a 40.5 percent increase in the number of women on their boards, and the S&P SmallCap companies had a 44.4 percent increase.

United States Lagging

For years, the United States has lagged behind other countries in gender diversity. Many countries throughout Europe have joined Brazil (30 percent for state-owned firms) and Malaysia (30 percent for new appointments) in legislating some percentage of women on boards, though each country has its own set of regulations.

In December 2009, the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) took an important step in mandating that companies disclose their director nomination process for considering diverse candidates.

The Movement to Increase Gender Diversity

Organizations such as The 30% Club and 2020 Women on Boards are advocacy groups calling for greater gender diversity in the boardroom. Because of the significant advantages afforded by gender diversity on boards, the topic will continue to be important for years to come.

Companies with women leaders tend to have higher profits. We suspect that companies with more women on their boards are also more profitable. Organizations like BoardProspects.com and OutsideDirectors.net assist wise corporations in finding qualified women to serve on their boards. For the foreseeable future, advocacy groups and governments will continue to drive initiatives to put more women onto corporate boards. 

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HEAR OUR OWN JOYCE GIOIA SPEAK AT WORLDFUTURE 2015: MAKING THE FUTURE

Held in San Francisco, July 24-26, enjoy stimulating, interactive sessions with engaging technologist Paul Saffo, best-selling author Ramez Naam, futurist Ari Popper, and our own author Joyce Gioia. Attend a gala "fashion show of the future", highlighting designers' visions of apparel in the year 2050. And you'll even have the opportunity to try out 3D printers, wearable devices, and other new and disruptive technologies. You will not want to miss this exciting conference! To discover more and register, visit www.WorldFuture2015.org. 

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What if you could tap into the collective consciousness of 60 of the top exceptional future thinkers in the world? The Future of Business explores the visions, trends, forces, developments and ideas shaping the next two decades and their implications for business leaders and entrepreneurs. And yes, our own Joyce Gioia is one of the authors. To order with your 30% discount off the cover price, use coupon code jg1 in the box during checkout.

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Copyright 1998-2015 by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurist. 336-210-3547 orhttp://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc."