Accessing board positions: women's and men's views

Recent high profile corporate collapses, both in Australia and the USA, have generated considerable debate in the popular press about the role directors play in a company's success. In particular, questions have been raised about how board members are selected for this most privileged level of management. Some commentators have suggested we need to be more vigilant about the selection processes for boards. While it is often claimed that current processes are suspect, and that it is a matter of who you know, not what you know, that prompts invitations to join a board, there is little data currently available on how board positions are filled. One source of information about the filling of board positions is the board members themselves. This article reports on recent research that sought to explore directors' views on the factors they perceive to be important in accessing a board position. Given men's dominance of corporate Australia, I was also interested in investigating whether there were differences between the views of women and men directors concerning factors important in gaining access to board positions. Rather than differences between the groups, generally women's and men's responses were similar. Both groups identified the importance of a strong track record, a good understanding of business principles and business contacts in gaining board positions.