Mentor women and racial minority first-time board members to increase appointments to other boards
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Women and minorities face more challenges in successfully obtaining a board seat as well as additional board appointments than their white male counterparts. Experienced board directors often mentor first-time board members on how to handle their first board meetings. The senior members share the norms of what is expected and the appropriate behavior in board meetings with the CEO of the company, however, this is more prevalent with white male members. Michael McDonald of the University of Texas and James Westphal of the University of Michigan conducted a controlled experiment by surveying first-time directors at 2,000 of the largest publicly-traded companies in the United States. To determine the questions on this survey, the two interviewed twenty two corporate directors. Through their feedback, the authors were able to develop a cover letter and the formatting of the survey’s questions. From these questions they were able to collect data supporting the lack of support for female and minority board members. First-time directors received the survey within the first six months of their appointment and another survey two years after their first-time appointment. The goal of this survey was to see if a relationship existed between the race and sex of first-time directors and if they received any mentoring by experienced board directors. They then examined the number of board appointments to other boards that female and minorities received and if the lack of mentoring had an effect. The experiment was conducted between 1999 and ended with all of the surveys being answered by 2008. The length of the experiment illustrates the significance of the females and minorities not receiving any additional board appointments with nine years.
From the data collected by McDonald and Westphal, they concluded women and minorities received less mentoring than white males. Another conclusion from their research suggests that if a female or minority already sits on the board, than a female or minority will receive more mentoring from that member. The authors then determined that those who received less mentoring from fellow directors had fewer appointments to other boards as well. Through statistical data the authors found that of the 28 percent of female directors and 22 percent of minority directors, only 8 and 5 percent, respectively, of them held more the one board seat. The low percentages provide the significance of this research. The importance of mentoring allows first-time directors to make good first impressions at their first board meetings. Advice from mentors that could impact a first-time director’s future board seats is being aware of getting the CEO’s approval to discuss an area of concern prior to the board meeting. If this approval does not happen, then a director should not bring up the concern. Another mentoring tip that could be useful to a first-time director is to provide the CEO with advice rather than trying to control the business strategies. Mentoring females and minorities in the same way that white males are mentored can help them to make impressionable board meeting appearances which can in turn lead them to being appointed to other board seats.
Some women who sit on boards are referred to as survivors (Nobel, 2013). Women and racial minorities have to really work and qualify themselves to earn the opportunity to sit on a board as the number of board seats that opens up per year is very small. Personal stakes are high for women on boards with respect to the number of women compared to white males that are married, have children or end up divorced (Nobel, 2013). Some myths associated with the mentoring of women and minorities include: cross-race or cross-gender mentoring relationships may be difficult to accept and perceived as ‘suspect’, mentoring a woman or minority may yield higher judgments for the mentor, giving feedback may be more uncomfortable to women and minorities, and women and minorities tend to be dealt with as representatives of their race/gender versus as an individual (Mertz, Welch, & Henderson, 1990). The article Access Denied, discusses that female and minority first-time directors receive less mentorship; however, they are less disadvantaged when it comes to having another female or another racial minority incumbent board member who already sits. Because women and racial minority members receive less mentoring on the normative ways of participating in board deliberations, first-time directors often do not receive additional appointments (McDonald & Westphal, 2013). Although women and minority first-time board directors often possess greater top management experience and are viewed by incumbent directors as having greater strategic knowledge and insight compared to white males, they remain less-likely to obtain other board appointments. This points out that the move toward meritocratic outcomes is being undermined. The article Access Denied (2013) provides a lot of support for stronger outcomes when women and racial minorities are appointed to boards versus their white male counterparts. Differential access to mentoring (white male access versus women or racial minority) has the potential to actually compromise board effectiveness (McDonald & Westphal, 2013). It may be personally riskier, but taking on a cross-race or cross-gender mentorship can yield strong long-term outcomes for the organization. A big reason that some people (particularly women and racial minorities) may not have had a mentor is that they never ask someone to be a mentor. In a LinkedIn survey, 67% of women stated they have never mentored anyone because no one ever asked (Burnham, 2011). In addition to asking, other suggestions for strong mentoring opportunities are: know what you are looking for, think outside the box, and reciprocate the relationship (Burnham, 2011).
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This study raises some interesting questions about mentoring, in-groups, and awareness of participation process, but it had limitations. Many questions on the survey were subjective and some questions held the answer depending on how the participant interpreted it such as:”Did another director advise you to get the CEO’s OK before raising concerns or questions about strategy or policy issues in formal meetings? [If so whom? When did you receive this advice?](McDonald & Westphal, 2013).” This study was conducted with large publically traded companies in the US meaning it may not apply to , small firms, private corporations, non-US corporations, etc.. As much of the mentoring was unsolicited by first time directors, it may be less effective when made a requirement and with someone not in the incumbent’s in-group. There have been many studies conducted on the consequences of gender and minority diversity on the board level, but the results have been mixed. Pfeffer and Sutton recommend asking this question when trying a new business idea or practice - “Could this idea still succeed if the assumptions turned out to be wrong? (Pfeffer & Sutton, 2006)” Mentoring first time directors in the participation process would be beneficial whether it lead to subsequent board appointments or not. Knowing how to interact would allow directors to better convey their questions and concerns which may have been overlooked had the director committed an unknown participation process faux pas.
Resources
Burnham, K. (2011). LinkedIn Tip: Why You Need a Mentor and How to Find One. CIO. Retrieved from: http://www.cio.com/article/2403048/careers-staffing/linkedin-tip--why-you-need-a-mentor-and-how-to-find-one.html.
McDonald, M. L., & Westphal, J. D. (2013). Access Denied: Low mentoring of women and minority first-time directors and its negative effects on appointments to additional boards. Academy of management journal, 56(4), 1169-1198. Doi:10.5465/amj.2011.0230
Mertz, N., Welch, O., & Henderson, J. (1990). Executive Mentoring: Myths, Issues, Strategies. University of Tennessee. WEEA Publishing Center: Newton, Massachusetts.
Nobel, C. (2013). Few Women on Boards: Is There a Fix? Harvard Business School. Retrived from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7159.html.
Ohio LSAMP Holds Inagural Events. (2014). In OSU Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Retrieved July 27, 2014, from http://odi.osu.edu/centers/ohio-lsamp-alliance/ohio-lsamp-alliance-home/ohio-lsamp-inagural-reception.html
Pfeffer, J. & Sutton, R. I. (2006). Hard facts, dangerous half-truths, and total nonsense: profiting from evidence-based management. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.
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