Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Empowering Gender Diversity in Boards

Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Empowering Gender Diversity in Boards is an insightful webinar organized and hosted by the Corporate Secretaries International Association Limited (CSIA) and Convene. Both committed to promoting good governance in their respective sectors, these two leading companies are also passionate about exploring the status and impact of gender diversity in the corporate world.

Held last March 15, 2022, the webinar welcomed seasoned professionals to discuss the role and impact of gender diversity in the corporate world. The panel of speakers is made up of Senior Policy Analyst of OECD Marie-Estelle Rey, Managing Director and CEO of DCSL Corporate Services Ltd Bisi Adeyemi, Chairman of the Institute of Certified Secretaries in Kenya Diana Sawe Tanui, and Chartered Governance Professional and representative on the CGI Global Thought Leadership Group Dr. Rosanne Hawarden. The event was facilitated by Valerio Viale, Convene’s Head of Business Growth in Italy.

The Gender Diversity Barriers in Boards

The glass ceiling metaphor has been a subject of debate and investigation for years. Unfortunately, this actual barrier continues to initiate and push for vertical discrimination against women in the workplace. Hence, preventing women from entering the “impenetrable” upper-level workforce positions.

Women are often deemed to be inefficient in the workplace for different reasons. One major issue highlighted in the webinar is family-related commitments such as housework and child care. This perception typically results in companies overlooking women’s skills and other potentials.

Gender stereotypes play a big role in holding back women in the workplace, posing all kinds of implications in career progress. Sharing her thoughts on the subject, Tanui said: “This bias is often unconscious because they are instilled in many of our minds from the time we are children. An example is the schooling system, where the women are encouraged to do the softer subjects, while the gentlemen would go through the STEM courses.”

These gender stereotypes have been developed and supported by the society and culture where women are operating — women are innately nurturers, have tons of domestic responsibilities, and have greater emotional intelligence. Because interesting trends are now showing that more women are emerging to hold senior and managerial positions, it only makes sense for companies to address the stereotypes by putting policies in place. In doing so, women can reach their full potential, while organizations can ultimately break the glass ceiling.

In relation, the biased company culture also contributes to gender inequality. Often grounded into personal assumptions, cultural biases refer to the interpretation of actions and situations based on the organization’s cultural standards.

Not only does this require acknowledgment, but also advocacy and education. Creating relevant policies is an effective strategy to deal with such biases. Companies that embrace an unbiased culture are more likely to be more inclusive in their operations. In addition, they tend to attract less litigation or suits linked to how the organization and its stakeholders handle governance and social responsibility.

To avoid indulging such assumptions, companies should develop targets and metrics related to board diversity. Initiatives such as raising awareness, reforming policy frameworks, and having fair incentives will also be beneficial.

Impact of Gender in Management Style and Performance

It is an undeniable fact that while men and women have different traits, both can add value to the boardroom. Irrespective of gender and race, competent individuals can bring in competitive results for any organization.

Still, it is best to acknowledge that in terms of management styles, women tend to have greater emotional intelligence. This means that they can assess and tackle situations from different perspectives, managing the situations much better. From their perspective, it is safe to assume that women who are good at juggling their domestic responsibilities can also perform perfectly well at work.

Further elaborating this point, Dr. Hawarden added, “What we see emerging are small elites, also known as the Golden Suits and the Golden Skirts. And what we are also now seeing is that the Golden Skirts are taking the roles away from the Golden Suits. So, we are seeing more women with more board performance.”

There’s no denying that there’s an increasing number of opportunities for women to be recognized into higher positions like boards. However, it is also worth noting that gaining sufficient experience is a huge key factor in deciding if one qualifies to sit as a board member.

Initiatives for Breaking Gender Inequality

Speaking of initiatives, women in their 30s or younger are encouraged to start getting experience on committees. This allows them to earn sufficient experience to be noticed and become strongly competitive board members or employees. Still, companies play a bigger role in breaking gender inequality. One good initiative is to have available senior management chairs on board that qualified women can have a chance to take.

To get started, look into the slow progress in increasing the number of women on boards and what this means in terms of company culture. This simple step can inspire and motivate women to be more active in the boardroom, or the workplace.

In terms of the diminishing numbers of women at the management level, the usual cause is the lack of time for improvement. For instance, women may find it hard to catch up with the pace of the management level since they have children and other domestic responsibilities to take care of.

Another cause is that policies are not being maximized. To address that, Adeyemi recommends, “It’s important that the employers begin to inculcate flexibility into the work schedule to give women the opportunity to do their family commitments and then still feel part of the workplace”.

Sharing one last tip towards the end of the webinar, Rey pointed out that having a positive social system is also significant. It should allow women to have their respective places in the workplace and have access to the same opportunities, even when on leave.

These are just a few of the many initiatives that organizations can carry out. Moving forward, we may see more policies addressing gender barriers in the corporate world. However, if your company wishes to be a front-runner for practicing and advocating gender equality, you can always come up with your own inclusive initiatives and share them with others.

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