Two Sides to the Story: Women's and Men's Views on the Difficulties Women Face in Accessing Directorships

With women representing only 3 per cent of board members of publicly-listed companies in Australia, the views of the "lucky" few as to why so few women sit on corporate boards is an important source of information to help us understand the factors contributing to the gendered nature of the corporate board room. To this end, a survey of Australian women directors was carried out in 2000 (Sheridan, 2001). Although this most senior level of management in Australia is still very much the domain of men, the board members responding to the survey were clearly well-qualified women with considerable experience and expertise to bring to their boards. It seemed to many of these women, however, that there were barriers continuing to limit women's opportunities to access public boards, including the tendency for "like to promote like." From the responses of these board members, it seemed this was not in the best interests of the companies. Seventy percent (70%) of respondents believed the current mix of professional experiences and backgrounds of board members was not adequate and could be enhanced through the inclusion of a greater variety of experiences and backgrounds. Further, while many viewed a strong track record in one's own field and a good understanding of general business principles as important in accessing board membership, many others highlighted the importance of business contacts; or "who you know not what you know." What many of the respondents suggested was that the current criteria for board membership may need to be reframed (Sheridan, 2001).