Columbia Business School’s blog published an article detailing a recent Bank of America/Merrill Lynch breakfast event where eight years’ worth of data on women business leaders at 100 public companies in the state of New York was surveyed.
According to the article, between 2006 and 2014, the percentage of women directors increased by 31 percent, executive officer positions increased by 6.7 percent and “93 percent of companies had at least one female board director or executive (combined).” In the food and drink industry, executives increased by 25 percent; the software and service industry saw a 20.7 percent jump and retail experienced a 5.5 percent increase.
Ann Bartel, the Merrill Lynch Professor of Workforce Transformation at Columbia Business School, asked the assembly during her presentation, “The fact that we’re seeing better representation on boards—might this lead to a different process by which executive positions are filled? As more senior men retire, might that make way for the appointment of new women?”
Kate Waters of Women’s Executive Circle of New York and Candace Quinn moderated a panel consisting of MetLife Senior VP and Global Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Elizabeth Nieto; MasterCard Executive VP and Associate General Counsel Pilar Ramos; and US Council for International Business VP for Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment Norine Kennedy.
Nieto commented in response to a segment on the necessity of diverse perspectives to reach an increasingly diverse consumer base. “Bringing diversity of gender, bringing ethnic and racial diversity, gives us that other perspective into how we look at the business. I think that more and more leaders are getting that connection.”