women on boards: a move that pays off
TRANSCRIPT
Top 6 perks of having women on boards8 Cons of using excel spreadsheets in hr
Employee Appreciation & Productive RecognitionReasons why Excel may not be the best option for managing organizational workforce
Women in Leadership – A quick recapEvolution of Spreadsheets - A quick timelineWhat Is Employee Appreciation
Performance Credibility, Contribution in Busi-ness Profits and ‘Quotas’ mandated by govern-ment laws of various nations have led to the rise in business women on boards of companies
What do Statistics say about Women Leaders?
Which companies classify as supportive of ‘Strong Female Leadership’ ?
More Insights from the MSCI Study
Top 6 Perks of Having Women Leaders for Top Executive Seats – A move that is paying off huge
#1 – Improved Decision Making
#2 – Foster the principle of inclusiveness
In financially stressful situations, the consensus – building abilities of women leaders comes to rescue, helping the companies cope and perform better
#3 – Cohesive Work Culture
#4 – Reflects progressive image of company
Several rating agencies and investment funds use the extent of ‘Gender Diversity Reputation’ as one of the investment criteria
#5 – Better insight into buying trends
Women drive approximately 70% purchase decisions by the consumers in European Union and 80% of them in United States
#6 – Better Stock Performance
In fact, the opportunity cost for all male-boards in US, UK and India combined stood at a staggering US $655 billion. They were clearly outperformed by gender diverse boards.
Though the perks are a clear testimony to the fact that women leaders at board level ensue business profits, the adoption of idea is still lagging due to mindset challenges.
Challenge #1 – Women at top are generally entrusted with non-executive roles. Very few are in-charge of key positions that actually matter
Challenge #2 – Quota system of ensuring minimum percentage of female board members has met with criticism from multiple quarters
Things that hinder success of quota system include – Lower Percentage earmarked for women leaders, no stringent guidelines and in some cases appointment of under qualified female candidates due to quota pressure
Challenge #3 – Existence of the “Golden Skirts” phenomenon where a single woman occupies multiple board seats due to dearth of required competent talent or due to government mandate. This has been looked down upon by industry experts
Challenge #4 – Annual Pay of women has just begun to equal the amount men were earning 10 years ago. Disparity in income for male and female candidates is present across jobs and sectors. This sometimes acts as a discouragement for business women to take up higher responsibilities
Challenge #5 – Corporate notion held by many male counterparts that female entrepreneurs cannot do justice to their roles owing to familial responsibilities
These challenges deter the momentum of women leadership gaining ground at the board level. However, industry experts be-lieve the scenario is sure to change as more women led success stories come to the forefront.
Way Forward for Women Business Leaders
This journey can be completed faster with the 30% goal being achieved by 2020 if following 2 mechanisms are considered:Ac-celerated Conversion – Doubles the proportion of new board seats taken by womenAccelerated Turnover - Turnover of existing board seats could increase making way for women
Inspiring Examples supporting Women Leadership
Final Words…
