Lack of skills stopping women reaching the boardroom
A new report by Bird & Co Executive Mentoring has suggested that it is a lack of appropriate skills that is stopping women from reaching the boardroom and not any kind of glass ceiling. The Glass Ladder (pdf), published by Bird & Co, an executive mentoring company, interviewed 36 executive and non-executive directors of FTSE companies, public sector and not-for-profit organisations.
The report suggested that too few women gained experience of running a business as they progressed up the career ladder, and it was this lack of experience that harmed their chances of landing top executive roles.
Training and mentoring are required to help women to feel confident in the boardroom, but alas a chicken and egg situation exists where companies are reluctant to appoint inexperienced candidates to the boardroom and therefore it's very difficult for women to gain that vital experience of boardroom life.
“Women have not had experience on boards, and if the only way to gain that experience is to be on a board then it is a vicious circle,” said Kathleen O’Donovan, Bird & Co founding partner.
How can women gain executive experience?
The report outlined a few steps that women can take to help them get into the boardrooms of companies across the land.
- Be confident - The report revealed a lack of confidence in your ability as a major obstacle to overcome as you need to push yourself forward
- Gain experience - If you can gain experience in non-executive roles it will be a big help to your ambitions. The boards of charities or public sector bodies can be good for building up that vital experience.
- Broaden your skills - It's not enough to be an expert specialist, you need to broaden your skills to display an interest in running all parts of the business
I think it's an interesting report and well worth a read. To download the report simply click the link below, and as always your comments are more than welcome.
The Glass Ladder (pdf)
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube
Comments
While recent research shows that having at least three women at board level improves business performance, some argue that the lack of women with the necessary skills and experience to take on top management roles is hindering progress towards equality in the boardroom. But is it the responsibility of women to be ready for the boardroom or the boardroom to be ready for them?
As the Bird & Co report points out, organisations today want women on their boards. Equality is high on the agenda, especially in the wake of the banking crisis and introduction of the Single Equality Bill. However, whilst some women do break through the glass ceiling and can end up sitting on multiple boards, many of those going for their first senior appointment are still seen as a ‘risky’ choice. Particularly in the science, engineering and technology (SET) sectors, where women at board level are so sparse, a lone female voice can struggle to make a difference in terms of offering diverse viewpoints and changing the culture of the board.
There is still a need to continue to develop ambition and aspiration amongst women to go for and get board appointments, but it is also the responsibility of policy makers and employers to set and meet targets that will boost the pace of change. Although important, it is not just about up-skilling women as O’Donovan plans to do. It is also about educating boards themselves in how to create greater diversity through a shift in culture and outlook. On the back of research commissioned by the UKRC into boardroom culture, we offer training to organisations as well as supporting women themselves through mentoring schemes, which give them the opportunity to play influential roles on the boards of public bodies.
The glass ladder. Haha, an interesting name. It could be the case, that actually the mentality of women perceiving that they are at disadvantage, is causing them to be defeatist rather than proactively increasing their skills as men do. There could be logic in this arguement.
I agree on the confidence point - check out http://piyakhanna.com/reasons-why-more-women-not-on/