Specific Instructions: Answer the following questions and send the teacher as ho

Question

Specific Instructions: Answer the following questions and send the teacher as homework. Specify Ethical Dilemma Board Quotas and your name in the delivery of the document 1. Given that women participate in the labor force in more or less the same proportion as men, why do you think that women occupy so few seats in boards of directors? 2. Do you agre with the quotas estabishedin many EU countries? Why or why not? 3. Beyond legal resources, what do you think can be done to increase the representation of women in boards and administrative boards? 4. A recent study found no relationship between female representation in the boards of directors and corporate sustainability of these companies or environmental policies. The study author was surprised by the results. Do the results surprise you? Why or why not?

Explanation / Answer

1. Even though men and women have equal participation in the labor force, women occupy far less seats on the boards of directors, globally. In EU, only 9.7% of board members in 300 biggest companies are women, in US this percentage is 16% in fortune 500, and in India and China this percentage is almost half.

Gender prejudices in my view is the biggest cause of this trend. Apart from the mindset blocks, women has to undertake additional responsibilities in their personal and social life like giving birth, upbringing, etc. which slows down their progress, in some cases. Although, this reason is not sound enough to completely justify the lack of women in boards. The biggest hurdle women face is the wrong belief many people carry, which makes them justify, men in leadership positions are better off, than the women of the same merit.

Most importantly, one of the primary reasons that women are not part of boards is the fact that companies are constantly looking for candidates who have prior board experience or are in the leadership positions in large companies. So, women in a way get locked in a vicious circle, because traditionally both these conditions are fulfilled by male candidates, much more than female candidates.

2. In may EU countries, there are quotas imposed by the government, forcing companies to bring more women into their top ranks. Although, the debate on justification of quotas will be similar to that on affirmative action, this quota system seems to be working in the EU countries. Quotas do bring hostility from the counterparts, as people might end up believing that women are getting the positions not based on their merit, but simply due to the quota. But, on the other hand, quota for women forces the organizations to look for qualified women candidates in the same light as their male counterparts. In my view, quotas established in these EU countries is justified, as these quotas will not only bring more women in the board positions, but it will also catalyze hiring and promotion of more women through the organizational ranks in the long term.

3. Beyond legal resources, to increase women representation on boards, we need to change the mind-sets of the people by making a visible commitment to gender diversity throughout the organization and setting new principles for strategic and tactical decision making, including women at every candidate slate. We also need to expand our criteria and look beyond CEOs and C-suite members for board candidates and consider the ones with the right expertise and not just the ones with similar experience. Lastly, an active pipeline needs to be maintained by expansion of networks to include more of women and female candidates through the hierarchies in the companies and cultivate long-term relationships with the prospective candidates.

4. The results did not surprise me, as the orientation of a person towards corporate sustainability and environmental policies do not necessarily comes from their gender. We have in our mind categorized genders and their interests in a manner which leads us to believe in this. At the board levels the focus on corporate sustainability and environmental policies depends on the overall company’s view on these factors rather the gender representation within the board members.

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