Empowering all women in society helps women reach and stay on corporate boards, says study headed by Sucheta Nadkarni of Cambridge Judge Business School.
Increasing the economic power of women throughout society is a key factor in women reaching and staying on corporate boards, says a new global study commissioned by BNY Mellon and Newton Investment Management, and headed by Sucheta Nadkarni, Sinyi Professor of Chinese Management at Cambridge Judge Business School.
The landmark study found that years of education and participation in the labour force have the greatest impact on getting women into the boardroom, while a country’s collective values and beliefs about gender egalitarianism, humane orientation and assertiveness are bigger influencers than were previously understood. Quotas are of limited value, because while they can help women get into the boardroom they have no significant impact on keeping them there.
“Global variation in female rise to boards is much more complex and nuanced than the simple categorisation of ‘developed versus emerging economies,’” Nadkarni said..
The study “The rise of women in society: enablers and inhibitors” looked at 1002 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 list across 41 countries and 51 industries. The findings were unveiled at a conference on Womenomics in London on 8 April.
“I’m delighted to see confirmation that empowering women outside the boardroom is key to getting women into the boardroom and keeping them there – potentially becoming a virtuous circle,” said Helena Morrissey, CEO of Newton Investment Management and a member of the Advisory Board of Cambridge Judge.
Celebrating 25 years of excellence
Cambridge Judge Business School, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, leverages the power of academia for real-world impact. Throughout the rest of the year, we are highlighting some of the recent initiatives that demonstrate our impact on people, institutions and society at large. Find out more about our 25th anniversary