Women lead 70%-80% of customer purchaseand companies with at least one woman on their board have a higher return on equity than those that do not, the Women on Boards Project points out in website — yet women occupy only 20% of global board seats and are not expected to reach gender equality for decades, according to a Deloitte REPORT.
Cassie Burr, co-founder and CEO of Women on Boards Projectis on a mission to change that. In February 2020, she and co-founders Sheryl O'Loughlin, Melissa Facchina and Kara Cissell-Roell launched the project to increase the number of women on private boards. consumer companies.
Image credit: Courtesy of the Women on Boards Project. Cassie Burr, co-founder and CEO.
A series of “connected” experiences helped set Burr on the path to co-founding and cultivate her commitment to raising women leaders.
A math major in college, Burr was recruited by Goldman Sachs and moved from Arizona to Utah to join the firm. “They pulled me in flowing-focused recruiting, women-focused recruiting,” she recalls. “Eventually I helped build a training initiative globally (and joined) the leadership team of their women's network. It helped me realize that capital markets are interesting, but what drove my passion were these human elements of an organization.”
Related: Goldman Sachs to pay $215 million in gender discrimination lawsuit
From there, Burr joined an executive search firm in San Francisco, then became vice president of consumer-focused talent. private equity firm VMG Partners. “The concept of a talent partner was still pretty new” at VMG, and Burr had the opportunity to define what it meant in the context of the firm's commitment to building organizations as diverse as its customer base.
“(But) we don't have a supply problem. There is no shortage.”
Burr's early professional experiences came to the fore when O'Loughlin, co-founder of organic food company Plum Organics and former CEO of Clif Barbrought together Burr and several other women, including Cissell-Roell, Burr's former boss at VMG, and Facchina, co-founder and general partner at Siddhi Capital.
They were all frustrated by the lack of representation of women in the boardroom, Burr recalls—and by the misplaced focus on a “supply problem” of women leaders.
“We saw a lot of groups focused on what we would describe as the supply side,” says Burr. “(But) we don't have a supply problem. There's no shortage. There's an incredible ecosystem of talented founders, CEOs and operators who would make great board directors if given the opportunity.”
Part of the issue is rooted in the problematic phrase “table ready,” according to Burr.
“There's no mystical threshold you reach that makes you ready,” she explains. “Any boardroom it is completely different. What makes you a great candidate will vary depending on the investor, the stage of the company and what they're trying to achieve.”
“With private companies, you actually have more room for creativity.”
The Women on Boards project started with a consortium of investors committed to increasing the number of women in the boardroom: VMG Partners, City Capital, L Catterton, Swander Pace and more. During the first year, 20 companies committed to adding a woman or women to their boards.
Those early days taught some important lessons, Burr says: It's challenging to do too much research on board at the same time, and expanding the definition of “board member” may help.
“It's really hard to do 20 onboard searches at once,” says Burr. “It's (also) hard to pick a moment in time and say, 'We're going to do it at that point.'” It's demand-driven; board seatspeople retiring or moving on. So the way we've evolved is more of an on-demand approach.”
Related: How we increased gender diversity in our boardroom
When the demand for a new board member isn't there — Burr admits many conversations stalled when there wasn't an open board seat and creating one would be difficult — rethinking what it means to sit on the board of a private company is paramount.
“With private companies, you have more room for creativity,” says Burr. “If we define this board member as someone who is in the room, has a voice, and gets paid, then the missing part of that equation is the right to vote, and that's actually what matters the least in private council chambers. Very rarely something comes to the vote”.
“You want a board that represents the consumers you're serving.”
To date, the Women on Boards Project has helped connect 60 women with board roles, with 10 matches this year alone. The organization continues to recruit consumer investors as its sponsors. Strong word of mouth referrals across those investors' portfolio companies and external entities help the project grow and improve its offering.
Needless to say, Burr knows what it takes to create a well-balanced board—and she suggests organizations keep two things in mind to do it effectively.
Related: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Boards
First, be critical of “loneliness” in the boardroom. You don't want any member to feel singled out, says Burr.
“In this context, of course I mean single woman, especially if your customer is mostly women – that's problematic,” she explains. “You want a board that represents the consumers you're serving. You might also think about the only one in other contexts, the only person of color. Again, especially if it's a big thing. target customerit's hard to represent (those consumers) if you're the only voice expected to speak on their behalf.”
Related: Board diversity: Why it's more important than ever
And, once again, don't let the reductive idea of ”board readiness” keep you from choosing a candidate who is well-prepared in their own way.
“Don't underestimate the severity, passionthe energy and importance of first-time board members,” says Burr. “These people are often part of the leadership team of some of the most successful, fastest-growing or newly acquired companies, who will bring that incredible expertise important in your boardroom.”