Program Overview
Supporting Executives with Directions, Tools, and Approaches to Increase Representation of Women in Healthcare and Related Industry Boards
Gender disparity on boards of directors is well recognized and documented, whether in the for-profit, non-profit, or government sectors. In the United States, fewer than 30% of corporate board directors are women. Nearly 50% of venture capital firms focused on health care have no women on their boards of their portfolio companies. Yet studies show that companies with women on their boards make decisions that better protect company value and performance.
Accomplished and qualified women want positions on boards of directors and want to advance to leadership roles on them. Many are unclear how to secure these positions of responsibility. Women on Boards: Getting on and Adding Value works to increase the representation of women in governance positions in health care by teaching strategies and competencies to help women to become a first-rate board member, to prepare you for the inevitable challenges, and to provide direction, tools, and approaches to reach your full potential.
This is a Must-attend Program for Women Seeking Board Positions
The program faculty features successful women board members and other experts in board governance and practice. You will meet high-performing, accomplished, and ambitious women who have achieved much in their careers and who are ready to take their talent, leadership, and executive skills to the next level by serving on boards in health care and related industries. As a participant, you will develop your own personalized action plan to seek and obtain a board directorship, and to advance from there.
This interactive course uses case studies and experiential sessions to prepare you for directorship and to start you on the path to becoming a sought-after candidate. You will learn
to evaluate board opportunities that meet your preferences and fit, learn to communicate effectively in the language of boards, and gain knowledge and skills you will need to be effective.
Women on Boards of Directors
Organizations with women leaders perform better than those that don’t. They surpass others in social responsibility, sustainability, and financial performance. Evidence shows that companies with female board members are more successful than those without, a key concern for organizational competitiveness.1 As a program participant, you will:
- Learn essential legal, regulatory, and operating knowledge to serve on boards of directors
- Develop your understanding of roles and responsibilities to be effective
- Meet and learn from women who have achieved success as board members
- Develop your own action plan to seek, secure, and advance in a board position
Learn From Harvard Faculty
Women on Boards: Getting On and Adding Value is designed and directed by Ellen M. Zane, MA, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at Harvard Chan and CEO Emeritus at Tufts Medical Center, and Laurie Samuels Pascal, MBA, MPH, Senior Lecturer on Health Management at Harvard Chan.
1 Why Diversity Matters, Catalyst
Credits and Logistics
To All Our Course Enrollees
Join our Virtual Introduction & Alumnae Panel on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 from 5:30-6:45 PM ET. Check your registered email for more information and the link to the event.
Attendance is voluntary.
Please note: a laptop or other portable personal computing device is strongly recommended for course enrollees.
Accommodations
April 2024
Hilton Garden Inn Boston Brookline
700 Brookline Avenue
Brookline, MA 02446
TEL: 617-935-0077 FAX:
$259/night + 11.70% tax
Book Online
The hotel is approximately 1 mile from the program location and they also provide a shuttle bus to the Longwood Medical Area.
A limited number of rooms have been reserved at a reduced rate until March 20, 2024. These rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be advised that hotels in the Boston area can sell out very quickly. We recommend making your hotel reservation as soon as you receive registration and payment confirmation. Please mention group code Women on Boards and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to receive the special rate.
May 2025
Please check back for updated information.
Program Check-in
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
FXB Building
651 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
617.432.2100
The program takes place at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, located in the heart of the Harvard Longwood Campus in Boston. Public transportation is also readily available to the city’s many shopping districts, museums, and restaurants.
For directions, please click here.
Continuing Education Credit
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will grant 1.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for this program, equivalent to 15.75 contact hours of education. Participants can apply these contact hours toward other professional education accrediting organizations.
All credits subject to final agenda.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation upon completion of the program.
Who Should Apply
Recommended participants in this course will be highly-accomplished leaders from diverse industries seeking positions on boards of directors in the health care industry and/or have a demonstrated commitment to supporting the representation of women on corporate boards. Ideal participants have held executive-level positions and have a minimum of 10 years of broad-based management and leadership experience.
This program also is designed to help women currently holding board positions who wish to expand their engagement with boards in health and related industries.
While the program is focused on women (and those that identify as women) executives, the program is open to all executives who meet the admissions criteria.
This course is focused on boards of directors for organizations and industries in the health care sector, including:
- Biotechnology companies
- Medical device manufacturers
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Health information technology firms
- Hospitals, health systems, and other health care delivery organizations
- Other health care-related organizations, including non-profit organizations
Develop an Unmatched Network of Women Executives
Program participants will be executives with diverse backgrounds, functions, organizations, and industries, committed to improving health care through board leadership. By bringing together senior leaders ready to assume board-level positions, this program offers a career-enriching experience in a small, personal setting where you will learn from fellow executive participants plus from savvy practitioners and faculty. You will have ample opportunity to exchange insights and best practices. You will leave the program with your own network of supporters on whom you can rely for guidance as you implement your plan to attain a board position—or to advance in one—in the health care sector.