Women Must Get on Board in 2020

‘A Political View’ By Sherry Holliman

In today’s time women are not chosen to serve on paid boards as men. They are less likely to serve on boards simply because of being a female, however the serving population should have an issue with the lack of diversity.

The progress of creating diversity opportunities for women in boardrooms remains challenging. Does gender diversity matter?

Will an organization perform better if a woman was on the board? Is having a woman on a board too risky for the organization? Having a diversified board of directors is crucial to any organization because the board has a strong impact on how the business operates, makes decisions, and ultimately, the success of the business.

Have you heard of the old saying, “behind every great man is a great woman?” Women can do anything a man can do.

In fact, some of the most powerful women often push the man to be the voice in dominant industries because the system is prejudice against women holding powerful position. The lack of women holding board positions should prove that oppression is real. Oppression of women in local communities is very prevalent and quietly accepted.

Women are stereotyped as being supportive not leaders, nurturing not ambitious, compassionate not business savvy, emotional not decision makers, and care takers not CEO’s. Which makes some men cringe because they also associate those qualities with women needing high emotional maintenance, dealing with daily emotional drama, lack of knowledge about organization operational needs, and fear of facing discrimination lawsuits. With this good ol boy stigma the chances of bringing in a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences to local community businesses is extremely low.

Do you believe that board members appointments are business decision, oversight, or male boards simply practicing obvious gender discrimination?

Gender diversity for boards especially financial institutions should be a law because there is often a tendency to choose people who “look like me” for a board, whether it is because it’s assumed that people like the others will fit in better. How effective are non-diverse boards in engaging with diverse constituencies? All male boards should face questions from the population they serve about this issue. Diverse boards will perform better because diverse boards will mirror their customer and client bases. Having a diverse board can help better understand purchasing and usage decisions and help the business better understand their customers.

Without women on boards businesses are missing a valuable opportunity to bring in voices that represent this population. Women are needed on boards because they almost always deliver higher returns, tend to be more aggressive, and are result driven. They provide diverse viewpoints, bring skills and experience, encourage innovation, and promote growth. Women directors are likely to be more in tune with the business needs than men, which helps develop successful products and services.

While having women on a board won’t necessarily solve all problems, it can go a long way towards helping create an organizational culture that values and encourages diversity. No one wants to discuss the elephant in the boardrooms which is the lack of diversity in the boardrooms especially in the financial institutions in small local communities. The real purpose of allowing gender diversity and all diversity should be to have a different business aspect of the boardroom to enhance strategies and risk oversight for the future growth of the business.

Boardrooms should be compiled with a diversified board of director to address opportunities and challenges. There is no reason in 2020 that boards should not reflect the real world. Board gender diversity can have an impact in many areas, such as the community, customer and employee engagement. Also, business will be proving that developing women and minorities as leaders is important.

The benefits of having a gender diverse board cannot be realized until the boardroom culture changes to demonstrate equality. Boards that want to maximize their effectiveness need to have gender diversity to ensure different perspectives are addressed and integrated into the boardrooms. It is time for a change in the boardrooms especially in small communities. It is time for gender diversity to meet and reflect the customers base they serve or attract new customers. Changes will not be made by ignoring the lack of change or waiting on someone else to make the difference. Customers should always ask “Who are my board members?”

and question the lack of diversity.

Do you see you in your boardroom?

Sherry Holliman is a concerned citizen of Crittenden County and has some views on a variety of topics that she wants to share with her neighbors.

She serves on the Marion City Council.