Corporate Board Initiative
Promoting gender balance in the boardroom.
Mission
We believe the potential for women should be unlimited and opportunities should be as well.
Seats on corporate boards represent a leadership frontier for women. Women hold far fewer than half of S&P 500/ F1000 board seats despite repeated studies by McKinsey, Credit Suisse, and others that confirm what progressive companies already know: gender balance in the boardroom contributes to better decision making and a better bottom line.
In 2011 our Forum founded our Corporate Board Initiative to accelerate the advancement of women on corporate boards across all industry sectors. Our strategy reflects our belief that change happens more quickly when it’s driven from the top. Our initiative focuses on the game-changers: CEOs, Chairman, Nom./Gov. chairs and Directors who can truly accelerate the advancement of women on boards, with the overarching goal of achieving gender balance on corporate boards by 2025.
In 2021, 44% of public board appointments were women.
HISTORY
Breakfast of Corporate Champions
On Wednesday, November 8th, we held the 2023 Breakfast of Corporate Champions, honoring F1000 and S&P500 companies with 40% or more women on their board. This biennial event honors those companies and individuals who are actively working to advance the number of women on corporate boards.
Learn more about past Breakfast of Corporate Champions eventsABOUT OUR BOARD-READY DATABASE
CEO Sponsored Board-Ready Database
In 2013, the Women’s Forum of New York launched a unique database to bring more women into board networks and increase the pipeline of board-ready women. We invite CEOs to sponsor women who they believe are board-ready for this database, which is available to search firms and nom-gov committees free of charge. We were delighted to partner with Equilar who include our candidates in their own database, greatly increasing the visibility of our board-ready women.
Learn more about our CEO Sponsored DatabaseRESOURCES
Sponsor a Woman
CEOs may use our nomination form to recommend board-ready women to our free to access, database.
Sponsor
Access our Database
Are you looking for an exemplary woman to add to your or your client's corporate board? Submit the request form to receive a personalized report of candidates who fit the search criteria.
Access
Development
In partnership with select corporations who are also passionate about the gender-parity issue, we create programming aimed at preparing and advising women on board service.
Partner