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What are the top ten types of question women ask about boards of directors? Recent discussions with women who are taking the big step of getting information and education about what they need to know to get onto a corporate board reveal how much women need to learn about governance. At least they are asking good questions! What are the top ten concerns on their mind? Take a look:

1. What are the roles and responsibilities of a board member? Committees? Duties? Time requirements?

2. What qualifications, credentials and preparation are required for a public company board role?

3. How do you define, how do you become an effective board member?

4. What are the risks (and the rewards) faced by board members today?

5. How do boards select new directors? Skills matrices? Nominating criteria? Selection processes?

6. How does one position herself, in her career, for a board role? Where are possible board opportunities?

7. How do networking, connections and introductions work in board searches, if at all?

8. What due diligence considerations are there in finding and evaluating a possible board role?

9. How much finance and accounting should I know? Where can I learn more?

10. Questions about specific issues: Sarbanes-Oxley, performance evaluations, director training, director compensation, confidentiality, nonprofit experience?

The lesson from these questions is that women are asking "basic" questions -- suggesting that we need to begin delivering comprehensive, but fundamental information to women candidates if we want to improve the number of prepared women ready to serve on top corporate boards.

The Vancouver Winter Olympics are noteworthy because 40.51 percent of the participants are women. There were 1,066 women athletes out of a total of 2,631 according to the official Olympic site. In the first Winter Olympics (1924 in Chamonix, France), there were "only 4%" women. By 2006, in Turin, Italy, the number of women athletes rose to 38.28%. The record so far is the Beijing Summer Olympics, where women represented 42% (4,746 athletes out of a total of 11,196).

A first question we should be asking ourselves is how did these women achieve this notable and outstanding level of performance (without legislation or quotas)?

But, of course, the media is a-roar over the lawsuit women competitors filed with the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, arguing they should include women’s ski jumping along with women’s ski cross. The International Olympic Organizing Committee opted only to include women's ski cross team which had half the number of elite women competitors. The International Ski Federation endorsed the IOC decision. The women, of course, claimed discrimination.

The reality is that the supply of top women ski jumpers needs to increase to attract support at the IOC level. At last year’s World Championships, only 36 women ski jumpers competed, but just a few top competitors led the pack by a 20-point margin. Fifty male competitors were all roughly at the same levels, producing very interesting matches.

Another key consideration is the ability and willingness of women ski jumpers’ to attract financial support. In these harsh budgetary times, both men and women’s ski jumping participants faced major cutbacks in support from the US Ski Team. Even if the women had won the lawsuit, they still would have faced the financial challenges. So, women ski jumpers need to get out there and hustle up commercial support for their sport in competition with the 1,066 other women in hockey, downhill slalom, biathalon and curling.

February 13, 2010:
http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Media/?articleNewsGroup=-1&articleId=77001