Women on Boards—Changing the Landscape of the Corporate Board

On Thursday, November 7, 2019, FWSF and UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business hosted a panel discussion centered around the new California Law that requires companies to have women serve on their boards. Most companies in our state have to have at least one woman serve on their boards of directors by the end of this year. By the end of 2021, they'll need three. It is not hard to find qualified women to serve on corporate boards.

The issue is how to change the mindset of companies to create boards that value diverse perspectives and mindsets, thereby creating a more balanced corporate board. Companies need to be committed to looking beyond the traditional board criteria. 

Over 125 attendees, including students, were eager to learn from our panelists of experienced board members:

Dr. Kellie McElhaney (moderator), Founding Director — Haas's Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership

Joan Dea, Board Director – Charles Schwab, Cineplex Entertainment, Torstar Corporation, Performance Sports Group

Sabrina Simmons, Board Director – Williams-Sonoma Inc, e.l.f. Beauty, Inc, Columbia Sporstwear Co

Robin Washington, Board Director – Salesforce, Alphabet Inc, Honeywell International, Inc.

The panel topics included how women were selected, challenges they have faced, why they serve, how they contributed, their advice for other women desiring to serve and the journey we still have left to travel to bring out the best performance in the companies we support and for our own career paths. 

Missed the event? Watch the full recording below.