State Of Women’s Representation On The Corporate Boards

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Women on Corporate Boards
State of women’s representation on the corporate boards in the U.S.
The increased attention on gender diversification in the corporate world has facilitated the recognition of the role that women play in enhancing the success of publicly listed corporations. It is clear that women bring different perspectives and skills at the workplace (Winters and Jacobs-Sharma), yet the number of women on corporate boards in the U.S. does not reflect this reality. As of 2015, women representation in the corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies was at 19.2 %, which is a very small percentage considering that about half of the U.S. workforce consists of women (Winters and Jacobs-Sharma). As of 2018, Fortune reveals that approximately 20% of directors of corporations are women, which indicates a very alarming corporate culture that does not support women in high positions (Kowitt). This points out to a need for change in the corporate world to accommodate more women in leadership positions.
Factors Affecting Women’s Representation on Corporate Boards in the U.S.
The low number of women in corporate boards begs the question of why companies are still including fewer or even zero women in their boards, yet the benefits of hiring more women in high positions are evidenced, especially in terms of returns. One of the factors limiting women representation is unconscious bias whereby naturally, more men are selected to fill vacant board seats (Blake). It comes down to how comfortable people are during selection, and more than often, people are more comfortable selecting men than women due to the existing inclination. There is also the element of perception where women are still perceived as people who cannot solve problems, which is far from reality (Kiradjian). This is pure stereotyping of women by men and should be uprooted from the American system if growth in ...