The article “Message from the men: We know the power of women on boards,” address issues of gender representation in management. It was written by Angle, Hooley, Landers, and Ray and published on the Boston Globe website.
Summary
The first draws attention to a 2018 report on gender parity on the boards of Massachusetts largest public companies. Women took 40% of the board vacancies in 2017. The women now occupy 30% of the board seats. Also, women of color took up 7% of the vacancies. However, 11 companies out of the 100 that were hiring have no women on their boards. 29 others had just one woman director.
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According to the article, organizations benefit from diversity on their boards. Diversity results in more benefits. As a result, the authors support and advocate for the inclusion of more women in organizational leadership. The authors proceed to share data that show how women are influential based on their percentage of wealth the command, purchase decisions, and purchase of goods and services. They note that organizations consistently fail to take such information into account. As a solution, the article indicates that it would be appropriate to have a board that reflects the diversity of its customer base. Companies that embraced diversity reported different kinds of benefits related to innovation. The companies acknowledge the many consumers are keen to know how the management of different organization looks like.
However, it is not only about women rising to the top. They have to perform. Good performances by the women at the top attracts more women to aim for the top. Good performance teaches other women that it is possible to break the glass ceiling. In Boston, it is easy to find qualified women to take up available leadership opportunities. Groups such as Boston Women Leaders Network or The Boston Club can offer help. Companies are poaching awesome women from each other because they need awesome women on their boards. The poaching will rise since places like California are passing laws mandating women representation on company boards. It may become a requirement all over the country by 2021.
Key Learning Points
Several key learning points arise from this article. The first point, which is also the most significant, is that diversity is beneficial. According to the article, the originations that have more diversity can gain knowledge on the different segments of its market. For instance, companies that had more women on their boards were able to understand how to serve their women customers better.
Second, firms that had diverse leadership commanded good rapport with customers, employees and business partners. Diversity matters a lot to these parties. The effect is greater if the women on the board are reputable performers, which is the third learning point. In other words, companies cannot just recruit any woman and expect results. Recruiting any women who lack the appropriate skills and knowledge is counterproductive. Recruiting women who can serve on these boards makes a great difference. Today, many women have the education, training and experiencing to take up big roles. It is thus easier to find women to take up board membership duties.
Fourth, having women on the board result in innovation and improve the company’s competitive advantage. Diversity increases the levels of idea generation and the knowledge for firm regarding its market. As a result, the firm knows how to exploit available opportunities better. A firm that lacks diversity has no such advantage and is poor at identifying and exploiting opportunities.
Finally, many companies are waking up to the need for diversity, and new legislations are mandating diversity. These changes will increase the demand for qualified ladies to take up board position.
The relevance of the Article to Managers Today
Despite to call for diversity in organization man firms across the world still lag behind. The information informs managers of the benefits of diversity. It may motivate them to set diversity goals for their firms. Manage need to develop ways to attract the best ladies in their firms. Scarborough (2018) reports the gender equality advancement slowed after the 1998s. High rates of gender equality were experienced in 1970 more than the 1990s, 2000s and now. The slowing down may result in challenges in finding top-notch ladies for board positions. Managers need to prepare for the challenge.
Using the Learning Points to Make Decisions
The information in the article teaches managers that diversity is not just about hiring women. It is hiring women that can deliver results. Managers should plan on how to attract and retain such women in their firms. Competition for top talent never ends. Many organizations use different poaching tactics to recruit the best talent from their competitors. Thus, employee retention approaches need to be effective. Also, the managers must develop a criterion to recruit candidates that meet the organizations’ needs and can spark innovation (Koh, 2018). The recruits should possess practical knowledge that can benefit the organization. Such knowledge includes being conversant with current developments such as technological and social changes. Diversity should not be a publicity stunt, but a strategic move. If it is a publicity stunt the employees, customers and partner may respond negatively. If it is a publicity stunt, it becomes reactionary, and customers associate it with negativity (Willmer, 2018). Managers also need to incorporate diversity need in short-term and long-term human resources planning. The planning will be essential for meeting the evolving legislation mandating diversity.
References
Angle, C., Hooley, J., Landers, S., and Ray, J. (2018, November 19). Message from the men: We know the power of women on boards. Boston Globe . Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/11/19/message-from-men-know-power-women-boards/vVDT0pzw6RaNDnOlHEGJII/story.html
Koh, J. (2018, November 7). ‘Imperative' to Push Women to Top of Companies, Says IMF's Lagarde. Bloomberg . Retrieve from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-07/-imperative-to-push-women-to-top-of-companies-imf-s-lagarde
Scarborough, W. (2018, February 23) What the Data Says About Women in Management Between 1980 and 2010. Harvard Business Review . Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2018/02/what-the-data-says-about-women-in-management-between-1980-and-2010
Willmer, S. (2018, November 27). Fidelity promotes more women in wake of misconduct allegations. Financial Planning . Retrieved from. https://www.financial-planning.com/articles/fidelity-investments-promotes-more-women-following-sexual-harassment-allegations
