Over the last couple of decades, significant progress has been made in achieving gender parity in business boardrooms. Still, according to Deloitte, around 23.3% of the world’s board seats are held by women. In Australia, representation is slightly higher with the Australian ASX 300 boards reporting in 2023 that women hold 36% of board seats.
Naturally, getting more women on boards has been a topic of discussion among all major companies and consultancies, with several issuing guidelines and ideas on achieving higher participation. So, how can companies bring more women on their boards?
Expanding the skills matrix
One key change needed to increase the number of women on boards is expanding the “skills matrix.” This matrix is typically used by recruitment heads to attract people who possess the skills to fix existing gaps or gaps that they forecast will appear in the foreseeable future.
Specifically, an issue in this process is that when recruiting potential board members, recruiters will request previous work experience on a board. This is particularly limiting for women who will often not have been given such an opportunity, due to the current gap in gender parity in board rooms. Expanding the scope and eliminating such barriers to entry during the recruitment process can help bring in more qualified women.
Setting goals and understanding metrics
Forbes in its article on diversifying a boardroom points out how unconscious bias can often block an unprepared company from seeking more diverse board members. This is why each company needs to have set diversity metrics that help them understand where their company stands at any moment. From there, they can set distinct goals that are measurable and applicable to their board rooms.
Directly looking to fill a certain seat with a woman can often be the key to not missing out on a good candidate who might have otherwise been dismissed due to unconscious bias or an extremely strict skills matrix.
Expand your network
Current statistics show that close to 90% of board members come through internal recommendations from a company’s network. To address this issue many companies are establishing active pipelines for female candidates that remain open. This helps expand a company’s network while also bringing in more diverse female talent.
An active pipeline should not only be used for bringing in external talent, but also for promoting women within an organisation or company. This could include offering development or mentorship programs to help boost and cultivate female talent.
Conclusion
Thriving organisations have set diversifying their boardrooms as a strategic priority. In doing so they have highlighted problem areas and set up distinct metrics to help address them. They have also embraced more inclusive recruitment practices while also boosting internal talent through a constantly active pipeline. The reinforcement of their commitment to a gender-diverse board has ultimately helped bring in more women on boards and has allowed them to benefit from their diverse perspectives.
