10The State of Gender Diversity in Boardrooms:

Dr. Nancy Gianni Herbert

Immediate Past Chair and Director, Elevations Credit Union

Introduction1

The monolithic and mono-dimensioned model of boards of directors in the twentieth century was the standard largely because the Caucasian male, with well-seasoned expertise in his industry or community leadership role, was the preferred board candidate sought after to add legitimacy and creditability to the firm. Through this lens, current or retired leaders, recognized men of influence in professions related to or of service to the organization, were thought to lend a caché of power, knowledge, and respectability in boardrooms worldwide. This in part was established as a strategy to reassure shareholders that the organization was in good hands because their highly esteemed all-male board of directors was made up of a local, regional, or “who's-who” list of leadership celebrities.

The merits of this model weren't widely challenged until the 1980s when board governance studies and literature gave rise to a board governance reform. Centered on best practices first initiated by the American Law Institute, the good governance movement has been gaining momentum since the turn of the century (Branson 2007). It was just within the past decade that the old model of exclusive boards started evolving toward a new paradigm founded on diversity. This paradigm shift recognizes diversification of human capital in the boardroom as a viable and formidable ...

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