By Deborah Rosati, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D According to a Harvard Business Review article called “Research: When Women Are on Boards, Male CEOs Are Less Overconfident”, having more women on boards yields better results for shareholders because “having female board members helps temper the overall confidence of male CEOs, improving overall decision making for the company.” Women Get On Board supports the findings of this study: having more women on boards leads to better results for the businesses they represent. That is why our mandate is to connect, promote, and empower more women to corporate boards. It’s also why I am sharing my board advice in this 4-part series called “How to Get Yourself on a Board.” If you have been following the first 3 blogs in this series, you have learned how to “Master the Foundations”, “Position Your Board Offer”, and “Get Board Interviews”. The final blog in this series 4es all of these elements together by showing you how to ace your board interview. In today’s blog, I provide my top ten (10) tips from my [...]

In recent years, businesses have begun to realize that gender diversity on boards makes a big difference. For example, one study of 6,000 boards found that gender-balanced boards are less likely to have financial irregularities because having different viewpoints and opinions leads to increased effectiveness. Women Get On Board’s mandate is to connect, promote, and empower women to corporate boards. We do this through an engaged community of women and men in Canada committed to advancing gender diversity in the boardroom. However, as I wrote in my blog post called “Are You Board-Ready”, “getting yourself board-ready is a journey where you need to be realistic in your skills, experience and value you bring to a board. You also need to be mindful that it is a very competitive marketplace. There is an over-supply of qualified corporate directors for a limited supply of available corporate board seats.” That’s why I am sharing my advice in my 4-part blog series, How to Get Yourself on a Board. My previous blog posts in this series covered how to “Master the [...]

According to an Osler research report called “2019 Diversity Disclosure Practices: Women in leadership roles at TSX-listed companies”, “Women now hold over 18.1% of board seats among companies disclosing the number of women on their boards, the highest proportion yet and a 50% increase compared to 2015 (when it was 12%).” That’s why Women Get on Board’s mandate it to connect, promote, and empower women to corporate boards. To help more women on their board journey, I have launched a 4-part blog series called How to Get Yourself on Board. If you read the first post of the series, you’ve mastered board basics. With this foundation, you’re ready for the next step in your board journey. The second blog in this series is all about how to position your board offer and it will provide practical insights on how to: 1. Assess your board readiness 2. Identify the right board for you 3. Create your board value proposition 4. Build your board resume and LinkedIn profile 1. Assess your board readiness In order to prepare for your first corporate [...]

Serving on a board can be an incredibly rewarding experience—and it’s one of the best ways to advance your career. Board service has both personal and professional benefits, including opportunities to: Build your network and personal brand Give back to organizations with meaningful missions Learn different perspectives that can be applied to your existing roles Get sponsored for governance education programs (e.g., ICD.D, C.Dir or CDI.D) Develop governance leadership skills Get access to new knowledge, skills, perspectives, management styles, corporate cultures, business models, mentors, and connections As you can see, serving on a board is a meaningful way to build your career and enrich your network. However, securing a coveted board position is not an easy task. That’s why Women Get On Board’s mandate is to connect, promote, and empower women to corporate boards. It’s also why I’m launching a new 4-part blog series called How to Get Yourself on a Board. My first blog in this series is called Master the Foundations and it will provide you with practical insights on how to: Recognize there are different types of boards Identify [...]