Brief
Women face steep drop in board placements as firms favor CEOs and CFOs
Executives warned that boards are prioritising current C‑suite leaders, leaving many women and retirees out of new board roles.
By Felo News Desk · Published
At Fortune's annual Most Powerful Women Summit, executives warned that companies are increasingly seeking current CEOs and CFOs for board seats, leaving women and retirees on the margins.
What happened
Merline Saintil, co‑founder of Black Women on Boards, said board placements for women are down 33% over the past year. She explained that firms are targeting titles such as CEO and CFO, roles where women are under‑represented.
What the reports add
Saintil told editorial director Diane Brady that "placements are happening, but they’re happening specifically for CEOs." Jane Bargmann of Heidrick & Struggles noted a trend of leaders leaving full‑time jobs to build a portfolio of board roles, describing retirees as "just as busy as CEOs." Hanneke Faber, CEO of Logitech, added that boards want members who are "current" and dealing with issues in their day jobs, cautioning against stepping out too early.
What was said
"We’re back to CEO, CFO profile now. So if you’re a technologist or someone outside of that, I would just say keep relationship building, keep networking," Saintil said to Fortune. Bargmann said, "What we’re seeing now is people make the decision to step out of a full‑time role or an operating role earlier and build a portfolio of boards." Faber warned, "This thought of, ‘Let me step out of my day job and go do boards,’ [is] not such a good idea at the moment. Because we want people who are current, who are dealing with some of these issues in their day job."
How it came about
The discussion was part of a broader conversation with leaders from Heidrick & Struggles, TwinPoint Collective and Logitech about the changing landscape of board recruitment and how women can position themselves for seats.
Key facts
- Board placements for women fell 33% in the last year (fortune.com)
- Companies are prioritising CEOs and CFOs for new board seats (fortune.com)
- Retired executives are increasingly seeking full‑time board careers (fortune.com)
- Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber says boards want members who are current in their day jobs (fortune.com)
Sources
- [1] fortune.com — originally reported as “Boards don't want retirees in times of rapid change and those who leave full-time roles could be out in the cold, execs warn”
