by Sonya Beyers
Diversification lies at the core of good governance and successful boards, however diversification involves far more than looking at gender quotas and the issue of gender alone.
It’s encouraging to see diversification not only being widely discussed but also organisations seeking to implement appointments that give their boards a broader and deeper base from which to make decisions.
While organisations are actively seeking to appoint more women on boards, I encourage them to continue to seek women with the qualifications and experience that will most enable the organisations to meet their future goals.
It would be disappointing if gender diversification on boards became a process of tokenism. Candidates – both male and female – want to be, and should be, appointed for the skills and expertise they can bring to the table for the best outcomes for the organisation, not given a place at the table because of their gender.
Gender diversification will continue to happen organically
As each generation of women progresses through their education, formative years and career development, more of them become board-ready and gender diversification is therefore a natural progression of that.
Having quotas, while an admirable first step, presents two risks for boards to be mindful of:
- Firstly, an appointment made to fulfill a metric may result in a board that doesn’t have the skill set or experience it requires;
- And secondly, there is a risk that a quota sets a boundary the board may not look beyond because once they have filled the required number of female seats, they may ignore future female candidates who may be an excellent fit for their organisation.
So while setting quotas for female board positions is a starting point to adjust to the emergence of a new paradigm, they will I believe become unnecessary in the future.
There is an added bonus of the current focus on gender diversification though. It has provided an opportunity to address overall diversification with organisations and to help illustrate the importance of a diverse board that is comprised of individuals whose skillset, when combined, is a formidable knowledge base for an organisation looking towards the future.
Naturally, men and women both offer something different to the decision-making process. They approach problem-solving differently, they may use different thought processes as a way of filtering and synthesising information; they collaborate differently and communicate differently.
Neither is wrong or right – they are complementary and are both necessary for a complete picture.
Aside from gender though, diversification also needs to include looking at multiple variables, most notably:
- Age
- Demography
- Skills and expertise
- Life experience
The most important question boards need to answer when looking at the composition of the appointments is: does the overall mix of our directors reflect the future needs of those the organisation connects with (donors, customers, members/shareholders), the business and industry the organisation operates within; and a balance and depth of knowledge to take the organisation forward?
Having had the privilege of sitting on several boards over the past decade, my experience has been nothing but positive.
I’ve never felt that my appointment was for any reason other than the value and experience I could bring to the organisation. I’ve never felt I’ve been appointed to a board because of my gender and I’d like to think others share the same experience.
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