Speaker's Information
Imagine a room where there are 8 women sitting around a
table.
- Where is the table? Is it a kitchen table? Is it a coffee
table?
- What are they there for? Is it a baby shower? A Tupperware
party? A bake sale planning session?
If your mental image cannot conceive of the possibility that
these women are key members of the board of directors of a top
Fortune 500 company, then perhaps even you might be buying into
the historic prejudices and biases that are keeping women from
their rightful positions at the helm of our public companies.
The issue is this: We need to address the myths that
exist about women on boards of directors and eliminate the stereotypes
that prevent women from advancing to leadership roles on boards
of directors.
The issue is significant because: Men hold "beliefs"
about women on boards of directors that are stereotypes which
restrict the candidate pool from which boards might choose. Women
hold "beliefs" about boards of directors that potentially deter
their willingness to serve on boards.
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 "myths of women on boards" message.
- Corporate leaders and existing
board members can evaluate how they interact and communicate
with other members of the board team.
- Corporate leaders, women's
organizations and diversity groups can consider how effectively
they address the myths that surround women candidates for governance
roles.
The goals are:
- Acknowledge the myths and stereotypes
that surround women candidates for boards of directors
- Substitute alternative perspectives
and demonstrate the value and power of diversity within boards
of directors.
How does the issue impact you:
A board of directors is a powerful tool for setting the strategic
direction of a firm. A board's ability to formulate a viable management
development plan will determine the growth of talent within the
organization. As long as artificial "myths" are allowed to dominate,
the potential for creative collaboration and for productive exchange
are artificially constrained.
My ideal outcome is this:
That the increased presence of women on boards of directors will
be accompanied by a renewed sense of purpose and effectiveness
on the part of all board participants.
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:
- Examine the myths, the stereotype,
and the biases that have evolved over time.
- Replace the myths with factual
understanding of the economic contribution women make to the
employment, investment, and consumption in our marketplace economy.
- Ensure that talented, experienced
women are ready to take their place at the governance table.
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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