Description
Book SynopsisThis important new book addresses the growing international interest in women on corporate boards of directors.
The contributors explore the position of women on corporate boards and future trends in different countries including Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Jordan, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Tunisia, the UK and the USA.
They go on to report the latest research on the experiences and different contributions made by women directors on corporate boards. Issues discussed include:
- How women directors champion difficult issues and debates
- How women influence boardroom behaviour
- The contribution of women directors' human and social capital
- Gendered experiences and the glass cliff
- The glass ceiling or a bottleneck?
- Networking to harness local power for national impact
- Women on board in best practice companies
- Whether critical mass makes a difference?
- Future directions for research.
Women on Corporate Boards of Directors brings together the significant international research base with suggestions aimed at individuals aspiring to board membership, women and men currently serving on corporate boards, companies interested in attracting women to their boards, and government bodies wanting to identify the challenges and opportunities facing them as they consider various options for increasing women's representation on corporate boards. This will also be an important book for academics interested in women directors, women's careers at senior levels in organizations and workforce diversity.
Trade Review'. . . a thorough and insightful examination of women on corporate boards of directors. . . I recommend the book as a read for practitioners, scholars, educators and others having an interest in human resource management. . . With its wealth of information, Women on Corporate Boards of Directors
is a good addition to the extant literature that should represent an affordable value for the buyer.' -- Mark Mone, Personnel Review
'After the first two chapters I was so absorbed I was almost reluctant to go to coffee and, as other coffee addicts will know, it is a rare book, especially a rare academic book - that can make one careless in observing the customary coffee break. . . I found that the way this book is written helped me to reflect on much of the gender research that I am involved in currently because the questions raised are so searching and far-reaching. Once again, the chapter authors combine brevity with thoroughness and depth in their examination of the themes, which made this a very rewarding book because it takes you so far in your thinking in just 240 pages. . . I feel energised by the debates that the book has opened up for me. I have done research in this particular area, but I now feel that I have explored different perspectives and new depths and I am grateful to the editors for that.' -- Marianne Tremaine, Gender in Management: An International Journal
'This timely collection of case studies and research from top academics around the world, will be of tremendous value to all those engaged in bringing about greater gender diversity in corporate boardrooms.' -- Jacey Graham, Brook Graham LLP
'This book provides an excellent overview of contemporary international research and practice relating to women on corporate boards of directors. An important lesson learnt from this book is: rather than having only one or two competent and committed women on the boards of directors, an ideal number of three is not only "the right thing" but also "the bright thing" to do. Why? Research has documented a strong positive correlation between the share of board seats held by women and financial performance.' -- Martin Hilb, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Table of ContentsContents: Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: International Issues and Opportunities Ronald J. Burke and Susan Vinnicombe PART I: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 1. Women Board Directors in the United States: An Eleven Year Retrospective Lois Joy 2. Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: The Canadian Perspective Ronald J. Burke and Richard Leblanc 3. The Pipeline to the Board Finally Opens: Women’s Progress on FTSE 100 Boards in the UK Ruth Sealy, Susan Vinnicombe and Val Singh 4. Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: The French Perspective Mairi Maclean and Charles Harvey 5. New Zealand Women Directors: Many Aspire but Few Succeed Rosanne Hawarden and Ralph E. Stablein 6. ‘Glacial at Best’: Women’s Progress on Corporate Boards in Australia Anne Ross-Smith and Jane Bridge 7. The Quota Story: Five Years of Change in Norway Marit Hoel 8. Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: The Icelandic Perspective Thoranna Jónsdóttir 9. Women on Corporate Boards of Directors in Spanish Listed Companies Celia de Anca 10. Contrasting Positions of Women Directors in Jordan and Tunisia Val Singh PART II: RESEARCH THEMES 11. Championing the Discussion of Tough Issues: How Women Corporate Directors Contribute to Board Deliberations Nancy McInerney-Lacombe, Diana Bilimoria and Paul F. Salipante 12. Women Directors and the ‘Black Box’ of Board Behavior Morten Huse 13. Do Women Still Lack the ‘Right’ Kind of Human Capital for Directorships on the FTSE 100 Corporate Boards? Siri Terjesen, Val Singh and Susan Vinnicombe 14. Examining Gendered Experiences Beyond the Glass Ceiling: The Precariousness of the Glass Cliff and the Absence of Rewards Michelle K. Ryan, Clara Kulich, S. Alexander Haslam, Mette D. Hersby and Catherine Atkins 15. On the Progress of Corporate Women: Less a Glass Ceiling than a Bottleneck? Dan R. Dalton and Catherine M. Dalton 16. ION: Organizational Networking to Harness Local Power for National Impact Susan M. Adams, Patricia M. Flynn and Toni G. Wolfman 17. Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: Best Practice Companies Heather Foust-Cummings 18. Critical Mass: Does the Number of Women on a Corporate Board Make a Difference? Sumru Erkut, Vicki W. Kramer and Alison M. Konrad Directions for Future Research on Women on Corporate Boards of Directors Diana Bilimoria Index
