Exec. Ed: Women on Boards: Getting On and Adding Value

Supporting Executives with Directions, Tools, and Approaches to Increase Representation of Women on Health Care 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.