Workplace parity! California legislation passed, companies need to have at least one female director

First, let's take a look at the fact that, according to data quoted by the California legislature , nearly 400 companies headquartered in California and the Russell 3000 index have no female directors.

Does such a phenomenon make you feel unfair or even angry? In response to these conditions, at 9/29th this year, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the SB 826 Act, requiring all listed companies headquartered in California to have at least one female board member at 2019, or at least six women at the end of 2021 if the board is more than three. According to this law, about 94 companies in California need to add at least one female director as of 9/30.

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SB 826 can be said to be a great leap forward in promoting gender equality in the workplace, if the company does not comply, the first year will be fined $100,000, the next few years to increase to $300,000. Of course, the move also drew opposition, Jennifer Barrera, vice president of the California Chamber of Commerce, said that SB 826 's designation of female access to the board would be a sex discrimination that would make it difficult to improve the diversity of the workplace. (Recommended reading: Gender Issues in life: "Rent-A-house female" is discrimination against men?) )

But co-creators of the SB 826 bill, Democrat Senator Connie Leyva, said: "We know that when board members become pluralistic and women's voices are heard, it will be good for the whole workplace." 」

In fact, legislation to protect women's seats in the board of directors will not only improve the sexual harassment in the workplace, but also, in terms of interest, it is more necessary: according to the Fortune Business Review , the top one-fourth of companies in the 500 largest companies, if they include female directors, Its sales rate of return is 42% higher, and the return on equity is 53%.

At present, in European countries such as France, Norway, Sweden, through legislation, the company's autonomous action, the company's board of women accounted for 30%. This way, we cite McKinsey's interview data to help you sort out the following three ways to diversify your workplace:

Change your Mind

Companies have a belief in the diversification of the workplace, but there is a general lack of urgency, resulting in action, slow performance, Estee Lauder company president and CEO Fabrizio Freda that light action and awareness is not enough, only accelerated action, only to change the meaning. Enterprises need to set goals and motivations as the basis for subsequent decision-making.

In order for the senior executives to think in response to rapid changes in the social media and to better understand the users, the Estée Lauder Media has the potential of the company's young women and senior executives to become each other's mentors. These executives are able to learn the latest trends and social media operations, while young women can grow quickly and accumulate real-life experience and leadership skills. This mode of operation has become the corporate culture of Estee Lauder.

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Development standards

If the company has started to diversify, perhaps you can look at the criteria for recruiting talent. Relax the standard at the right time, for example, not necessarily for those who have executive experience and who have served as directors. Dan McCarthy, President and CEO of Frontline Communications, said that many of the women in his company were first-time directors: "We are willing to take risks, and we are actively looking for people who have the ability to turn technology into strategy, and it turns out to be true." (Recommended reading: the first high-level brain drain, what to do in Taiwan?) )

Maintain pipe elasticity

It is important to promote diversity by creating a pipeline for women candidates. When looking for a board member, most companies look for the right person through personal relationships or from other companies. If you rely on the former, a man-made board of directors, whose connections are mostly male, is not a big change; if the latter, it is possible to find people who do not conform to the company's style, so you need to be patient to create an intra-enterprise upsizing pipeline.

John Thompson, chairman of Microsoft, argues that good candidates need to spend three years time nurturing, even though it may not be possible for you to have the right people in a short period of time, but companies still have to build pipelines that are continuously and patiently cultivated.

According to a 2017 report by Deloitte's accounting firm (Deloitte Global), the proportion of women in Taiwan's corporate boards is 8.3%. This time the US has signed SB 826 's bill, and we should look at it in a more positive and positive way, even as a reference to it, because having a diverse board of directors not only helps to discuss quality improvement, but also to think in a way that the company has not tried before.