While female representation in the C-suite is a growing trend, recent studies report less than 17 percent of Fortune 500 corporate board members are women. In response, the George Washington University and the International Women’s Forum are leading efforts to launch top female executives “On the Board,” through mentorship and professional development.
The School of Business and IWF co-hosted a luncheon and panel discussion, led by “PBS News Hour” co-anchor Judy Woodruff, to announce the second annual cohort of On the Board fellows at the Elliott School of International Affairs on Thursday.
“This program is innovative, timely and it addresses an important national and global need,” University President Steven Knapp said. “These women are exactly the kind of leaders that, because of the disparity of female representation on corporate boards, would offer transformational contributions.”
On the Board is a collaborative program with the International Women’s Forum, a global leadership organization spanning five continents and 29 nations. The nine-month training program was made possible through the vision and support of GW Trustee Linda Rabbitt, M.A. ’72, founder, chairman and CEO of Rand Construction.
“We are excited for our second class of fellows,” Ms. Rabbitt said. “These 15 exceptional executives were selected from a pool of applicants that included some of the world’s most accomplished women.”
The diverse class of fellows includes Co-founder and Executive Vice President of comScore Inc. Linda Boland Abraham, President of Foot Traffice USA Victoria Barnard, Chief Administrative Officer of Towers Watson Anne Donovan Bodnar, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General (Retired) Dana H. Born, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Anne Chwat, former Managing Director of Deutsch Bank Jane DeFlorio, President of California State, Fullerton Mildred Garcia and Director of Business Development for Iron Road Partners, RMB Capital Management Kerry Jordan.
Executive Vice President of Zions Bank LeeAnne B. Linderman, U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania Deborah A. McCarthy, Partner and CMO of IDEO Whitney Mortimer, CEO of Ireland's National Library and National Cultural Institution Fiona Ross, former CIO of the Ohio State University Kathleen Starkoff, President of the National Restaurant Association Dawn Sweeney and Founder of On the Green LLC Mary Valenta, are also members of the cohort.
“We need to diversify boardrooms to meet the radical changes that are upon us,” IWF Vice President Sein Chew said. “With GW, we recruit the top-flight candidates that have not served on boards, match them with mentors and prepare them to succeed.”
Panelists Eileen C. McDonnell, chairman, president and CEO of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company; Christina Gold, former president and CEO of the Western Union Company; and Soha Nashaat, corporate director of Barclays Bank (Suisse) SA, discussed their experiences sitting on corporate boards.
“I have to give credit to my predecessor, who looked for quality people, which created opportunities for women,” Ms. McDonnell said. “Twenty years ago I was the only woman in the room at board meetings, but that has changed.”
When Ms. Woodruff asked the panelists what outside factors are keeping women from pursuing higher corporate leadership roles, they said that often obligations beyond the work place have to take a backseat, which can adversely affect female involvement.
Ms. Nashaat said she decided to take a step back from her role as CEO Middle East for Barclays Wealth because the demands of the pace of the industry began to outweigh the rewards of success.
However, the panelists were optimistic that the shift toward work-life balance in the corporate world will create a more welcoming environment for women juggling the unique demands of work and family.
“There will be a shift,” Ms. Nashaat said. “It will happen by inertia, but what we are trying to do is make it happen for all the right reasons.”