WOMEN ON THE BOARD How to make it to the


board; what every female graduate should know


New research reveals nine critical job assignments that a woman should get under her belt in order to build a powerful and credible CV that will make her ready for senior management and the board.


The research amongst 49 senior and board level women in mostly FTSE 100 companies identifies the key work experiences that senior women themselves attribute to their success. The study was carried out by Dr Ines Wichert, a senior psychologist at the Kenexa High performance Institute and expert on women in leadership.


Based on the experiences of these successful women, the nine assignments female graduates need to plan into their careers include:


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Stretch assignments early on in her career to show her and others around her what she can do;


• Gritty and broad roles that include international assignments, operational


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roles with profit and loss accountability and working in different environments to build a solid set of transferable leadership skills;


• Roles that help make a name and build a leadership brand – as a change agent in a merger or downsizing assignment, a fire fighter in a crisis and as a corporate ‘intrapraneur’, creating a new business, product or service;


The study also revealed other key success factors that are a must for future female leaders:


• Actively engage in career planning, including careful timing of the critical job assignments and when to have children.


• Have the courage to take on new and potentially daunting roles.


• Demonstrate curiosity to try new roles, work environments and working styles.


• Get connected through networking (although avoid women-only networking), sponsorship, mentors and role models.


•


Ideally, get a numerate degree so that working with financial information is second nature. This will give you a head start when it comes to building credibility.


• Bypass blockages – if career progression is blocked, move to another organisation


Says Dr Wichert, “Increasingly, it’s not cultural and structural barriers such as gender stereotyping and having children that are stopping women getting top jobs, it’s their career choices and the lack of


certain types of experiences on their CV. Young women need to be savvy about career development and planning to ensure they get the right experiences to make them ready for senior management and the board.” Under representation of women at board level has long been of concern but research to date has


it’s not cultural and structural barriers such as gender stereotyping and having children that are stopping women getting top jobs, it’s their career choices and the lack of certain types of experiences on their CV


been quantitative. This study forms one of the most comprehensive examinations of the experiences of senior business women and the findings have been compiled into a book called Where Have all the Senior Women Gone? 9 Critical Job Assignments for Women Leaders.


The book provides a practical reference guide to the obstacles women may encounter and how they can overcome them, as well as advice on career planning and mastering career phases, including the ‘make or break’ years during a woman’s mid 30s to mid 40s. Published by Palgrave Macmillan, Where Have all the Senior Women Gone? 9 Critical Job Assignments for Women Leaders is available from Amazon.co.uk and leading bookstores.


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