Female board members are more likely to have professional technology experience than their male counterparts, according to new research.
The research, conducted by Accenture, suggests that 16 per cent of women on boards had professional tech experience, while only 9 per cent of male board members held experience in tech.
The report, entitled ‘Tech Experience: Women’s Stepping Stone to the Corporate Boardroom?’ examined female representation on the boards of 518 companies on the Forbes Global 2000 list across 39 countries.
Accenture’s research also suggests that this isn’t an isolated case. Of the ten most represented countries in their study – the US, Japan, Germany, China, France, UK, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia – seven showed similar results. Only China, Canada and Spain showed a higher level of male board members with tech experience than women.
The outcome is not just reflected across different countries but also within different industries. Capital markets & diversified financials and insurance were the only two industries to have more male board members than female. Within the tech industry, 51 per cent of board members were women with professional tech experience, compared to just 37 per cent of men.
Roxanne Taylor, Accenture’s chief marketing and communications officer said, “As technology disrupts virtually every industry, companies need to think more broadly about the type of skills and experience needed for their boards, including getting more technology acumen into the boardroom.”
“At the same time, they need to stay focused on gender diversity, since organisations with diversity at the board level perform better.”
“Women directors with technology experience bring diversity and valuable insight – a clear recipe for strategic advantage.”
