For the first time, Catalyst, a leading nonprofit membership organization expanding opportunities for women and business, takes its 2014 Catalyst Census: Women Board Directors global, as the call for gender equality on boards grows worldwide. Created in partnership with The Data Morphosis Group, the new and expanded Census focuses on women’s share of board seats at stock market index companies across three regions and 20 countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe (14 countries), and Asia-Pacific (Australia, Hong Kong, India, and Japan).
Among the findings:
“We have evidence and optimism that closing the gender gap on corporate boards is possible, yet the current numbers are simply not good enough,” says Deborah Gillis, President & CEO, Catalyst. “Companies that are not making diversity on boards a priority should be embarrassed. Smart leaders know that they can either lead the movement toward making profound and lasting impact, or be left behind. The way of the past is not the way of the future.”
Diverse boards strengthen a company’s talent pipeline, and are correlated with more women Corporate Officers, increased financial performance, more innovation, and higher group performance. This we know. Research also shows a clear link between diversity and corporate social responsibility, and this is evidenced again in Catalyst’s new report, Companies Behaving Responsibly: Gender Diversity on Boards, which further highlights that what’s good for women is good for men, business, communities, and indeed, good for the world.
The good news? Catalyst sees more leaders stepping up and successfully taking intentional action to disrupt the status quo and ensure that women have a seat at the table. Here’s how.
The Women on Boardssm program of Borderless is as well a select network of qualified female executives with leadership experience in the sectors served by the firm. Members of the network are either already engaged on boards or share an ambition to qualify for Non-Executive Board positions.
Through a range of face-to-face and online networking opportunities, Borderless Women on Boards℠ supports executives in developing the required expertise, and positions them for success in Non-Executive Board roles.
Source: catalyst.com
An estimated one in seven people in the UK are neurodivergent, yet many struggle to get into jobs or progress in employment. For example, just three in ten of autistic people are in employment, with many of these jobs unstable or below their skill level. In the engineering sector, the call to recognise and harness the unique capabilities of neurodivergent talent has never been more pressing.
A desire from younger workers to earn high salaries early in their careers is a desire based on needs and not wants, data suggests. When asked about the main reasons for compensation increases, 31% said to pay for all their bills and expenses and 25% said to save money for the future.
At a recent training I was facilitating, I invited people to ask me anything anonymously using polling technology. While the questions always give me great insight into where people are struggling with issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), this question seemed more universal: “What do I do if my manager is not inclusive?”