Speaker's Information
Women on Corporate Boards
The issue is this: There are too few women in positions of leadership of U.S. corporations, today, especially on the boards of directors of major public entities.
The issue is significant because: Women represent a majority of the employment base of our economy; a majority of the business and personal consumers; and are the individuals principally responsible for family financial investment and retirement decisions.
Yet, most of the decision-making entities that have a significant impact on women in the economy, employment, consumption, and investment have just token representation by women.
Women hold only:
- 13.6% of the board of director seats on the top Fortune 500 public corporations;
- 15.7% of corporate officers (i.e., the V-level, E-level, and C-level officers of public companies);
- 7.9% of the top 5 ranking officers of those firms; and
- 5.2% of the top salary-earning members of corporate America.
[Source: Catalyst]
Elizabeth Ghaffari
would like to have a conversation with you about Champion Boards
-- for your business, for your organization, for your future.
Appropriate audiences:
Who can benefit from hearing the "women on board" message.
- The corporate woman can consider being on a board
of directors, herself. She can also consider being part of the
top management team that advises boards.
- Corporate leadership and diversity groups and organizations
can consider how their programs in fact develop women for top
governance roles.
For corporate women, the goals are:
- to revolutionize the way people think about women on boards;
- to motivate talented, experienced women to strive for leadership
positions on board of directors; and
- to advocate the advancement of competent women to corporate
board roles.
How does the issue impact you: Companies with more women
on boards of directors perform better. Women in leadership positions
of corporations bring unique skill sets and capabilities that
are crucial to the success of today's boards. The failure to promote
and train women to serve on boards is a failure of corporate managerial
development.
My ideal outcome is this: In my lifetime, I will see
at least 40% of the board of director seats of the top U.S. firms
occupied by women.
What do we need to understand: What is the current status?
- why do boards exist?
- why have there been so few women on boards?
- what is a "champion board" in today's economy?
- how does one build a "champion board"?
- when will it happen?
- how will it happen?
Where do we go from here:
- Prepare talented, qualified, and experienced women for the
unique challenges of serving on today's corporate boards.
- Highlight the unique value and contribution of women on public
and private boards of directors.
Who am I?
Elizabeth Ghaffari is a dynamic, energetic, and entertaining
speaker who will challenge you and your audience to think differently
about the way they do business today.
Her message is refreshing, hopeful, and realistic. Most of all,
her message is optimistic. We can do better. We can find and build
better boards that collaborate more effectively and that can chart
new paths to the future. We can do this.
Credentials:
For information, contact:
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