NEWS
Board rooms in state lack women
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by Kate Thibault
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Leadership positions in Wisconsin businesses are dominated by men, according to the Missed Opportunities in Corporate Leadership Study released Monday by Milwaukee Women inc.
The study found it would take 60 years for women in the state to reach professional equilibrium with their male counterparts, based on current trends.
MWi was founded in 2002 to "advance women and promote greater female representation in corporate leadership," according to the organization’s website. The study has been performed three times in the past four years. It measures the number of women in leadership positions in businesses throughout the state.
MWi president Sharon Canter said the study was inspired by an article written five years ago about the lack of females in high positions.
"[MWi] looked at the board rooms and the executive and positions, and then noted the gender," Canter said. "That's been our approach, to understand the diversity of leadership."
The results of the study, Canter said, show the dire need for women to become more involved in upper level positions. While a few companies in Wisconsin have several women in upper level executive positions, the study found the ratio of women to men in executive positions remains 52 to 423.
Canter added the study's main goal was to raise awareness regarding the lack of females in leadership positions, focusing on "the CEO and the boards — and especially the nominating board — who help bring in new candidates."
"Many of the decision makers are men, and they feel comfortable selecting people who act and think and look like themselves," Canter said. "We're encouraging people not to look in the same old place, but in new kinds of places and in new circles."
Though the study has raised some awareness, Canter said change is slow.
"We sort of like to call it a glacial pace of change," Canter said. "Numbers are moving very slowly. However, by building awareness around the issue, more business leaders are paying attention."
Despite the continued male dominance in business, University of Wisconsin Communications Professor Michele Hilmes said women are slowly rising up the corporate ladder and are putting themselves in an increasing number of leadership roles.
"We are still in the early stages,” Hilmes said. “When I was getting my degree, there were no female professors. The proportion at UW is up around 25 or 30 percent."
Women in leadership positions also serve as a valuable way to facilitate diversity in the workplace, according to Canter.
"There are some corporations that think they … need to bring somebody very educated about their product — like cranes, big manufacturing equipment — and in fact, that's not the case," Canter said. "Somebody can come on board adding a new perspective."
Hilmes said the new perspective provided by female leaders will eventually lead to positive change in today's competitive marketplace.
"I think that more women in high positions automatically … is a sign of equity and a fair situation,” Hilmes said. “People are not discriminating against gender, and this can carry into other areas, [leading to] less discrimination."
Anonymous (October 10, 2007 @ 9:59am):
Who cares if there aren't more women in board rooms?! What do women want to do, take over? Ain't happenin'!
Anonymous (October 10, 2007 @ 10:03am):
Oh who the hell cares? You can't have it both ways... You can't say that women are equal with men and at the same time promote diversity for the sake of diversity. If we're all equal then there is no point to diversity. If we are different, then less qualified individuals do not deserve to be hired for the sake of diversity. The problem with gender and racial diversity proponents is that they are really just promoting institutionalized racism. "You are a different gender or race so that indicates an inherent difference in who you are." The issue is especially ridiculous in the case of corporate leadership. Businesses don't need an equal number of males and females or whites and blacks any more than an NFL team does to win the Super Bowl.?
Anonymous (October 10, 2007 @ 2:04pm):
The problem is not that women and racial minorities should be used to fill quotas, but that board rooms are turned into old boys' clubs, where women and minorities are specifically not promoted because of race/gender.
Anonymous (October 10, 2007 @ 5:51pm):
9:59 - WELCOME TO THE 21st CENTURY!!!!
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