Sharing Global Best Practices for Boardroom Gender Parity

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

By now, you probably know about Norway’s 40% gender quota for corporate boards. You probably also know that a number of countries in Europe are following suit, and that the UK is looking for ways to increase the representation of women in the boardroom. You may also know about the SEC’s rule in the US for public companies to disclose how diversity is considered in filling board seats.

But what do you know about efforts on behalf of countries like Argentina, Brazil, Morocco, or the Philippines to increase the percentage of women directors? In an increasingly global business environment, knowledge about local efforts toward gender equality can be incredibly useful for women in the corporate space.

That’s one reason the law firm Paul Hastings has just released its second gender parity report, Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in the Boardroom. Tara Giunta, Litigation Partner at Paul Hastings and co-editor of the report, explained, “In the Second Edition of the report, we focused on corporate governance codes and listing rules, and found that, in a number of countries, diversity was being included. I found it very encouraging as offering a potentially useful strategy and tool to increase diversity on the boards of US companies.”

She continued, “We were hoping that as a law firm, we could contribute to the discussion on gender parity by examining what are the strategies being deployed by different jurisdictions, and identifying the tools and approaches and best practices that can be shared across jurisdictions.”

She added, “As a global law firm we have the ability to bring that to a discussion on a global basis.”

Cultural Differences

The report outlines boardroom diversity efforts by 30 jurisdictions around the world. In looking over the report, you see that every place has its own nuanced approach to getting more women on boards.

For example, some countries have set quotas for women’s participation in politics, while not approaching the issue of women in the corporate space. Some have approached the issue the other way around. The study explains:

“The report offers insights into how differences in culture, history, and societal norms, as well as the varying degrees of government involvement, affect representation of women on boards. Overall, we found that the wide range of representation of women on corporate boards from one country to another is subject to a variety of factors, including different legislative and regulatory regimes, cultural perceptions of women, and level of economic development.”

Giunta continued, “Some of the jurisdictions that have really started to tackle this issue – I didn’t expect to see, but I was pleased to see, for example in Latin America and Asia. Some are in a much earlier stage, but you have to consider the jurisdiction’s historical, political, and economic context.”

Leadership Development

The issue of women on boards is linked to the presence of women in the C-Suite, Giunta continued, with C-Suite experience being a major prerequisite for many board positions. “How do we ensure we get qualified women candidates – which we do have – for these roles? It’s a matter of identifying them and connecting them with the right constituencies. It’s very much an interconnected and mutually reinforced issue,” she said.

Besides the benefit of improving board performance, she continued, having more women at the top can send a powerful message to a company’s workforce. “If you have a critical mass of women on boards – generally thought to be three or 30% of the board seats – it sends a message to women employed by the company and women in management that the company recognizes and supports the value of women.”

That encourages the women to stay in the pipeline to the top, she explained.

According to Giunta, Paul Hastings has a popular women’s network, as well as a cohesive women’s partner group that hosts monthly calls on how participants can collaborate with one another at the firm.

This report was one way for them to work together, she said. It was also an opportunity to give more junior women a chance to build their leadership skills. “The authors are not all partners,” she said. “We wanted to use this as an opportunity to pull more junior female attorneys into the conversation on this issue, as a mentoring and collaboration opportunity for them.”

She added, “It also let them feature themselves as writers, authors, and leaders. We want to reach back and cultivate them for the future.”