Putting Women On the Board
Feminist Janice Ellig posted an article on Time on the need for more female representation on corporate boards of governance titled 4 Ways to Get More Women on Boards. The article created two completely divergent reactions from me based on the following two paragraphs.
First, Ms. Ellig writes:
It’s been said multiple times, by multiple people: Gender diversity on boards is highly correlated with stronger company financial performance. We can see that boards with a more balanced gender representation have an improved shareholder value, good corporate governance, better decision-making and a more positive corporate image. Yet at this moment in time, fewer than 20% of the approximately 5,000 S&P board seats are currently held by women.
Thought #1: Ms. Ellig is absolutely correct. Unlike feminists who believe any perceived differences between men and women are just bullshit “gender stereotypes,” I believe women think differently than men innately, and these differences in thought patterns are a strength a corporate board can benefit from financially. Adding a feminist who fights herself from thinking like a woman to prove she thinks like a man would be idiotic, but adding a real woman who thinks like a woman is genius.
Then Ms. Ellig writes:
This is what led me to leave the corporate world, publish articles and books, and through executive search, place more women in higher-level positions. (I place men as well; it’s a 50/50 split, as it should be.) My career was not the result of a master plan, but it was one of building a master network of meaningful connections over many years.
Thought #2: Ms. Ellig is absolutely wrong. Her concept of “a 50/50 split, as it should be” is asinine. Ms. Ellig is tacitly promoting gender quotas where people are given important positions of power not on competency, but on gender based nepotism. I don’t want to invest in a company that puts its corporate governance in the hands of a bunch of incompetents who were chosen on their genitalia, rather than their wisdom and abilities.
Having more women on a corporate board is a great idea - provided they are competent to do the work and think like real women (and not feminists trying to prove they can think like men and failing at it). Effectiveness beats failure; competency beats nepotism.