<div>It is 2050... ‘A History of corporate governance in india’ is released. The milestone that changed the way company boards performed was the inclusion of women on boards from 2015! Sublime vision or ridiculous dream?<br /><br />Can MVS’s Gauri and her friends make the chapter on Women Directors a celebratory tale rather than a cautionary one? Here are a few thoughts to get started.... Let us look at companies first. They fall in two categories: Those that used the nudge by the law as a trigger for affirmative action (no “checkbox” approach). They searched for women in senior management positions: independent, with integrity and one who could add value. And no prior board experience (how could they, given the situation we have in India of social disincentives to rise to the top?)... so, Vittal Morro’s cry that a “director is a director” is unrealistic. <br /><br />If all boards had to do to become gender diverse was to select from a pool of “experienced” women, why did we need a law? In Gauri’s vehement insistence that companies (and the country) must invest in women, there is food for thought, and action… The chairman can play a pivotal role in making the new director feel a part of the team by ensuring she has a sense of history and context, that she is heard even if she sounds tentative in the first few meetings, and nudge the CEO and his leadership team to pro-actively familiarise her with the industry and business. All with a mentoring attitude rather than a patronising one! The company has to ensure that a wide range of incentives are in place to get more women in senior positions, for it is incentives, more than law, that will make the sustainable difference. Ms Milligan of Mercer (source: FT) says that women who have taken to working part-time have to be “highly-managed” back into full-time positions. <br /><br />Then you have the checkbox companies... I heard of one company, promoter-owned/managed, where, before the first meeting, the new woman director asked to meet the executive directors/founders, to understand their expectations and share hers. And one of them said, without making eye contact: “What is the big deal? There is a law, we got your name, so here you are. Now let’s get on…”!<br /><br />So, Shirish’s view (BW issue dated 18 May 2015) that women need to invest in self-evolution and courage holds good here. In the example above, she needs to ensure she understands the company, business and industry, gets trained independently on the roles and obligations (and rights), is assertive at meetings and forms a healthy bond with the NEDs or IDs so she is not isolated. If she does not overcome the “confidence gap”, there is no happy ending. As someone put it at a training seminar, be the one with “something to say” rather than “saying something!”<br /><br />Women are resourceful, determined and pragmatic when it comes to protecting family/children’s interests — where they are stakeholders and custodians as well. Those very skills can be applied to her role as a custodian of stakeholder interests on the board.<br /><br />Experienced women directors need to do their bit too…. For example, help create informal networks or Buddy Clubs of aspirants to boards and become willing mentors.<br /><br /><strong>For aspirants: </strong></div><ul><li>Create a LinkedIn profile with your achievements and ambitions. Search firms/HR heads of companies use this medium. Hang out on virtual networks not at bars to build your own buddy clubs (which, says Manika’s colleague is essential for entry) . It’s also a more professional way of putting your CV out there!</li><li>Do not assume, as Achala does in the case, that boards want non-assertive people. If you get a whiff of that, don’t join the board or if it’s too late, give it some time and if things don’t go well and your views don’t get taken seriously, plan an exit. Also, do not make the mistake of assuming, as some of the women in the case do, that men are willing to join iffy company boards while women shrink from it…</li></ul><div><br />And finally, Gauri’s move to meet with other women to identify directors for Vulcan and her idea of introducing Firdoz, a known quantity from her personal network, to Vittal Morro is just the thing the doctor ordered… <br /><em><br />The writer is Hema Hattangady, serial entrepreneur, coaches young entrepreneurs, independent director and thought leader. She co-owned Conzerv Systems growing it from family firm to Indian MNC until she sold to Schneider Electric in 2009</em><br /><br />(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 18-05-2015)</div>
