“California to require public companies to have at least one woman on their board of directors by 2019”
I think that this is good, but I want to be clear that I definitely don’t believe that this is good enough.
In my mind, this can go one of two ways:
1. The boards all add a woman (or two) because they are forced to, not because they saw the value, and little change actually occurs because the mindset is the same, which causes the women to feel resentful/defensive because no, the playing grounds aren’t fair.
2. The women who are added embrace that they are going in with the lower hand and aim to add value in as many ways as possible. They understand that the fight is not over because they got a seat, the fight has JUST started and it is one that we need to win.
My dream is this: eventually these traditional boards that are only making changes because they are being forced to will see what’s happening when their competitors have a culture and environment where women are encouraged to EARN their place. Where they can see the tremendous value that is added when that happens.
That being said, it’s not up to the men to give us power. It’s up to these strong, brilliant women to earn it, and take it, and then earn it and take it over and over again.
We Came To Catalyze 