Corporate Boards
Stanford Women on Boards Initiative
About the Initiative
The demand for women to serve on corporate boards has never been greater, yet those responsible for recruiting new corporate directors claim there aren't enough qualified women to fill the spots. The goal of the Stanford Women on Boards Initiative is to increase the representation of women on boards through the following activities:
Thought Leadership
- Provide news about the topic of women in corporate governance
- Support research and case studies about the roles of women on corporate, private company and not-for-profit boards
Learning Community
- Promote programs that provide opportunities for connections and educational enhancement
- Establish a community forum for Stanford women on boards and prospective board candidates
- Provide guidance to women seeking to enhance their qualifications for board service
- Collaborate with students on career paths to board service
- Explore topics, issues and controversies in corporate governance through the Stanford Closer Look Series
Stanford Women on Boards Registry & Clearinghouse
- Serve as a virtual clearinghouse where director searches and Stanford women candidates can be matched
- Identify and surface board-qualified candidates among Stanford alumnae
- Build relationships with search firms and other organizations involved in identifying board-qualified candidates, and connects them to our alumnae
- Details on how to use the Registry
Member Profiles and Groups
Stanford: Please confirm that your alumni profile, including board memberships and corporate experience, is updated in the Stanford alumni directory.
LinkedIn: If you currently serve on a board, join the Stanford Women on Boards Initiative group, and maintain your profile, make connections with your board member colleagues, and receive news updates. Need help with LinkedIn?
For more information about the Stanford Women on Boards Initiative please email gsbwomen@gsb.stanford.edu.
GSB and Stanford University Resources
Director's Consortium at Stanford offers even experienced directors the benefit of a research-based, comprehensive approach to the complex decisions that board members must make. The program will help you build a "best practices" framework for making informed board decisions. Details
Director's College at Stanford is the nation's premier executive education program for directors and senior executives of publicly traded firms. This RiskMetrics (ISS) accredited curriculum addresses a broad range of problems that confront modern boards. Details
Center for Leadership Development and Research
The Center provides a forum where scholars research issues of leadership and corporate governance across multiple academic disciplines. Details
The Rock Center for Corporate Governance plans, coordinates, and hosts a wide variety of research projects, programmatic activities, and special events that address a broad range of topics related to Corporate Governance. Details
Other Resources of Interest to Alumnae
Deloitte Center for Corporate Governance
Their website outlines current challenges and practical solutions on board diversity and includes a wealth of resources on board composition and recruitment. Details
Lead 411 - Taking a Closer Look at the Corporate Hierarchy is a comprehensive resource page on the corporation and it's general hierarchy with in-depth/informative links. Details
Corporate Board Member magazine is an information resource for senior officers and directors of publicly traded corporations, top private companies, and Global 1000 firms. Details
BoardAssist is the leading nonprofit board matching service in the country. BoardAssist links “high impact” candidates interested in playing a leadership role on a nonprofit board with nonprofits that are selectively adding to their boards. BoardAssist's nonprofit clients are located in the New York tri-state area but serve locally, nationally and internationally. As a nonprofit, BoardAssist charges no fee for candidates who use its services. Details
National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) is a national non-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to serving the corporate governance needs of corporate boards and individual board members. Details
Women Corporate Directors is a rapidly growing international community of women who serve as directors of corporations. We are committed to sharing the best practices of corporate governance and discussing the challenges of conducting business in a highly competitive and volatile global economy. Details
3-D Diverse Director DataSource is a database opened to all highly qualified leaders with access allowed to subscribers only. Owned, operated and maintained by CalPERS and CalSTRS, subscribers vet potential candidates for nomination through a rigorous process. Details
Watermark (formerly Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives) connects exceptional women leaders with people and ideas that enhance their impact on the world. Watermark's Board Access program helps talented and experienced women achieve board placements through advocacy, education, coaching and a nationwide network of successful women executives. Details
InterOrganization Network (ION) consists of twelve regional organizations in the United States that combine their energies in advocating the advancement of women to positions of power in the business world, especially to boards of directors and executive suites. Details
Catalyst is the leading nonprofit membership organization working globally with businesses and the professions to build inclusive workplaces and expand opportunities for women and business. Catalyst's practices and services includes Corporate Board Services, which assists women in determining whether serving on a board is right for them. Details
Women in the Boardroom Event is a panel discussion which educates and prepares women to serve on boards of directors. The panelists are business leaders who have the experience serving on for-profit and not-for-profit boards. Events are held around the country. Details
OnBoard Bootcamp provides an insiders guide on how to be selected and introduces you to experienced directors and search executives who will share with you "lessons learned" along the way. Details
Boardroom Bound prepares women and ethnically diverse men for corporate board service. Their TWO day Pipeline Seminar is an "early-start", director-candidate development program. Details
The Board of Directors Network is an organization of women and men representing boards of directors, corporations, government agencies, academia, the legal and financial professions, not-for-profit organizations, and the media seeking to influence public companies to further the advancement of women in the boardroom and executive suites. Details
LinkedIn "In a sign the close-knit director community is beginning to migrate online, directors are starting to tap professional networking websites, such as LinkedIn and ExecuNet, to read background information about possible new board members." (Amanda Gerut, AgendaWeek)
You can join LinkedIn with a very simple public profile that will prove beneficial to your connections and to potential board search professionals. Your privacy and network connections are in your control.
Step 1: Join LinkedIn
Step 2: Complete your profile, using the simple format that LinkedIn board members use: see Leslie Kilgore example.
Step 3: Request to join the Stanford Women on Boards group to receive corporate governance news, and updates on our research projects, activities and events.
News
Few Women on Silicon Valley Boards of Directors
Just 57% of Silicon Valley boards have one or more female directors according to executive search firm Spencer Stuart in the report, "2011 Silicon Valley Board Index." SFGate, December 1, 2011 Details
Women Still Underrepresented on Corporate Boards
Women hold roughly 15% of the seats on Fortune 500 corporate boards and the numbers are not growing rapidly, speakers told the Stanford Women on Boards audience at their December Board Forum. Stanford GSB News, December, 2011 Details
The Alsop Perspective: Getting More Women on Boards
Stanford, along with a few other universities, is doing its part to promote such women and create more gender diversity on corporate boards. The schools are offering special educational programs, conducting research studies, and building databases of promising female candidates.
Graduate Management News (Nov 2011) Details
Women CEOs Opening Doors to Board Rooms and C-Suites Globally
Does it make a difference if a woman is in charge? A new study of 112 women CEOs in 39 countries finds that it does.
Corporate Women Directors International, Sept 9, 2011 Details
Scarlett Letter: Are the CEOs and Directors of Failed Companies "Tainted"?
Recent experience suggests that many CEOs and directors of failed companies are able to obtain or retain directorships at other companies after their departure. Should this be a concern for shareholders?
Stanford Graduate School of Business, Sept 1, 2011 Details
Do CEOs Make the Best Board Members?
A typical excuse for the lack of women on boards is that there are few female CEOs--and, according to popular consensus, CEOs make the best board members. Yet a recent study shows that CEOs may make no better board members than non-CEOs. Stanford Graduate School of Business, Aug 2011 Details
Boys-Only Boards: Where the Women Aren't at the Top
The trend of the 1990s and 2000s toward gender diversity on boards has dropped off in recent years, with females representing only 16% of corporate board members today. Surprisingly, the trend holds for companies for whom a majority of customers and employees are women. Increased recruitment efforts, quotas, and changing attitude barriers have been offered as solutions. Bloomberg Businessweek on MSNBC.com, June 27, 2011 Details
Books
Corporate Governance Matters
A Closer Look at Organizational Choices and their Consequences
by David Larcker and Brian Tayan
This comprehensive reference presents all the knowledge, models, and frameworks needed to implement and sustain superior corporate governance.
Pearson Prentice Hall, April 24, 2011