Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/61371
ON BOARDWomen Women have made great strides in business, but their progress stops suddenly—and inexplicably—at the corporate boardroom door. Business schools must look beyond the discouraging statistics and discover just what's keeping women off corporate boards. W 34 by Patricia M. Flynn and Susan M. Adams illustrations by Vivien Flesher instance, women outnumber men in the population and are responsible for more than 80 percent of all purchases of goods and services. Women represent more than 45 percent of all investors and more than half of all financial managers, account- ants, and auditors. They own more than 10 million companies, which account for more than 45 percent of all U.S. firms. Yet, the boardrooms of many public companies remain off- limits to women. Even among Fortune 500 companies, whose track record for women directors far outpaces smaller firms, women still represent a small minority of board members. What keeps women out of the boardroom? Several recent omen have made such substantial strides in business and make sizable contributions to the global economy. In the United States, for Facts and Figures Several organizations have taken to heart the premise that "What gets measured, gets done." Indeed, their studies, which have been released over the last 12 months, show clearly that women's access to seats on corporate boards of directors lags far behind their participation in other areas of the economy. In fact, several 2003 census reports on direc- tors—which range from regional to international—demon- strate not just that women account for a small proportion of directors, but that many companies still lack even one woman on their boards. Their findings show the stark reali- mote an important message to corporations. Changing the gender composition of corporate boards isn't just for the sake of diversity, nor for regulatory compliance. It's simply better for business. BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 studies suggest that the problem is widespread and systemic. The research serves as a starting point for further exploration, and as a benchmark for measuring progress, or lack thereof, of women in boardrooms across the globe. Business schools have the resources and the contacts to study these findings, conduct further research, and work toward viable solutions. Moreover, business schools can do much more to pro- ty when it comes to women in directors' positions: s 13.6 percent of all board seats in Fortune 500 companies are held by women, while 10.8 percent of companies surveyed have no women directors. ("2003 Catalyst Census ofWomen panies in Massachusetts, women hold 9 percent of the board seats, and 50 percent of these companies have no women (Corporate Women Directors International) sOn the corporate boards of the 100 largest public com- Japan, and the U.K., less than 10 percent of corporate board seats are filled by women. In the U.K., 58 percent of companies surveyed have no women on their boards; in Spain, that num- ber is 76 percent; and in Japan, it skyrockets to 97 percent. Board Directors of the Fortune 500," Catalyst) s In countries such as Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain,