A recent study has determined that while the number of women holding executive positions and serving on corporate boards of Wisconsin’s 50 largest public companies is on the rise, women still significantly lag behind men in membership on corporate boards.
Milwaukee Women Inc., an organization of professional women advocating women leadership, conducted the study this fall and found that 14.4 percent of board directors in the state’s largest public companies are women. That figure remained stagnant compared to 2011 but is up 5 percent from 2003 when the organization began collecting statistics on the number of women in C-suite positions and participating on companies’ boards.
“What we need to do a better job of is seeing the value of a placement of a woman as a good business strategy,” said Dr. Phyllis King, chair of the research committee for Milwaukee Women Inc.
While the study concentrated on the largest public companies across all industries and reflects a lack of women leadership in a number of sectors, it points to a need for more women at the head of Wisconsin’s manufacturers.
“We need to make it cool – accessible and attractive – for women to be in manufacturing and we need to encourage women and girls to study science, technology, engineering and math,” said Gail Lione, board director of Brown Deer-based Badger Meter Inc. “We can do math. When we improve the pipeline of women in manufacturing, I believe we will solve the problem of fewer women on manufacturing company boards.”
Lione, the only female director on Badger Meter’s board, is in her first year of board service and said she has been welcomed by her fellow directors.
“It is a very collegial working group,” she said.
Carol Skornicka, the first and only female director on the board of Beloit-based Regal-Beloit Corp., has also had a positive experience in her leadership role on a manufacturing team.
“I’ve found that I’ve been treated with respect and I’ve been included and I think that for the most part for this experience or any other being a female hasn’t had any noticeable impact on my experience,” Skornicka said.
The boardroom typically fosters a very professional environment where directors focus directly on the work that needs to be accomplished, Skornicka said.
“I just think that people have shared goals and objectives when they are participating in board decision-making and they just do the best job that they can, and gender doesn’t have an effect,” she said. “It’s really about people’s experiences rather than their gender that brings diversity to the board.”
Diversifying a board, no matter the company, enhances both its discussions and its decisions, according to Lione.
“The impact of women on the board of manufacturing companies is no different than the impact they have on the board of other companies in other industries,” Lione said. “The more diverse the board composition – in experience, education, gender, nationality, race and other attributes – the more robust the discussions and the better the decisions will be. The buying power of women is there in durable and nondurable goods and the business case has been proven.”
That business case is fueled largely by notable financial benefits, particularly in terms of return on equity, return on sales and return on invested capital, according to King.
“There’s been a lot of research done to say that the companies that do have at least one or more women on their boards do significantly better on their investments,” she said.
While women remain underrepresented at the leadership level of the manufacturing sector and others, Vickie Milazzo, author of the book, “Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman,” believes that is changing as women’s strengths in areas like collaborating and relationship-building become more valued in business.
“Those are significant numbers that really do build a case for having more women board directors,” King said.
And as women start to place more priority on their careers and overcome mindsets that have historically left them out of C-level positions, they’re receiving more promotions and being recognized for the different types of talents they offer corporations, Milazzo said.
“I think these are real unprecedented times for women,” she said.
Milwaukee Women Inc. will work to draw more women to leadership positions by asking companies’ nominating committees to consider their diversity guidelines, relying on the influence of women already in top-level positions and helping companies create women’s affinity groups or support existing ones, King said.
To Skornicka, companies must take a proactive approach to recruiting more diverse board candidates.
“I think it’s a commitment on the part of the executive leadership of the company and the existing board, itself, to make a decision to seek out qualified women and minorities to serve on boards,” Skornicka said.
King is hopeful that the study commanded by Milwaukee Women Inc. will serve as an eye opener in the need for more women leaders throughout the state. The organization aims to increase the number of women on boards of public companies to 25 percent by 2014.
“I hope it does get more visibility because it is something I think is really important to not only Milwaukee Women Inc. but also to the entire business community as well,” King said. n
