小优视频

When University of Tampa researchers first studied gender diversity in corporate boardrooms across the U.S., Florida had the lowest percentage of women directors on the list. At 24.5%, the state trailed the national average of 28% in 2022, out of the 25 states that were home to 20 or more public companies.

The research team 鈥� comprised of Rebecca White, director of the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center and professor of management and entrepreneurship; Ashley Salaiz, associate director of the Center for Ethics and professor of management and entrepreneurship; and Leon Faifman, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship 鈥� kept collecting data. In 2023, 25.1% of the board makeup in Florida was female, a small gain (while the national average bumped up to 30%), and the Sunshine State squeaked ahead of Nevada to sit in second-to-last place. Last year, Florida achieved another incremental increase, reaching 26.4%, but the state dropped to last place again.

While conducting the ongoing study, the research team has worked closely with the Florida Women on Boards coalition, a large network of female executives who target businesses that have fewer than three women on their boards to offer for consideration tailor-made lists of women with proper experience. The coalition has a starting goal to help place at least three women on every board in Florida that鈥檚 listed in the Russell 3000 index.

WHY IT MATTERS

When the coalition calls on a business, it emphasizes the benefits of having women at the top. The research reports data that prove gender diversity leads to better connections with stakeholders, better financial performance, greater levels of innovation, stronger social responsibility and better use of scarce resources.

Karen Zaderej, a 小优视频ampa trustee who is involved in the coalition, recently retired from her positions as president, CEO and board chair of Axogen, a health tech company specializing in nerve repair. She says the groups鈥� efforts aren鈥檛 just about diversity, they鈥檙e more about better business results. As an executive in the health care industry, she points to data showing the more than 80% of health decisions in a household being made by women, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Yet the decisions that are made about how health care is provided are predominantly done in a male environment, and that means (companies) miss business opportunities,鈥� said Zaderej.

An example, she says, is the way that breast reconstruction is addressed after women have a mastectomy due to breast cancer. Traditionally when the breast was reconstructed, the nerves were not repaired. So, even though the appearance may have been normal on the outside, the woman may have completely lost her sense of touch

鈥淔or a woman, breasts are about nurturing. They鈥檙e about being able to feel a hug from your children,鈥� said Zaderej. A female perspective enabled Axogen to prioritize research into this opportunity to improve outcomes for women, and today breast neurotization is a significant portion of Axogen鈥檚 business.听

Having women at the table 鈥渞eally provides that opportunity to have a different voice and a different view in the boardroom,鈥� she said.

In addition to making major house-hold decisions, according to Forbes, women buy 70% to 80% of a household鈥檚 supplies. That鈥檚 something Mercedes Romero, chief procurement officer for Primo Water, a purified water supplier, says board members should remember.听

As a Hispanic woman born and raised in Venezuela, Romero brings another dimension to both the MarineMax board and the Primo Water C-suite. While she is the only person of color in the rooms, both she and her colleagues see the benefits of her unique perspective. Latinos make up almost 20% of the U.S. population, and 鈥渢hat means that when you are sitting there and you鈥檙e bringing your perspective, your voice is heard,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd, of course, here in South Florida, not focusing on the Hispanic population is probably not the right thing to do.

NATIONAL PRESSURE

These advantages are why Nasdaq filed a proposal in 2020 to the Securities and Exchange Commission that would require companies listed on its stock exchange to diversify their boards. The rule would require companies with more than five members on their boards, most of which are in the Russell 3000 index, to have at least two diverse members. If companies didn鈥檛 comply, they would have to issue a public statement explaining why.

Supporters of the proposal hailed it as a major step forward, but data show that even that legal requirement might be too lenient. Salaiz and Faifman argue that one or two 鈥渢oken鈥� women on a board with five or more members is not enough to reap the benefits of gender diversity.

鈥淚n the case of women in the boardroom, the skills and abilities that women bring to the role will not be fully realized as long as they remain tokens,鈥� said Salaiz. She said the researchers found that three women is the 鈥渕agic number鈥� that led firms to more innovation. However, after firms reach that minimum, many of them tend to plateau, thinking they鈥檝e checked all the boxes.

The proposal was approved by the SEC in August 2021. Then, more than three years later, an appeals court in New Orleans rejected the proposal this past December, ruling that requiring diversity is not legal, and that the proposal should never have been approved in the first place.

While the appeal was a hit to the women鈥檚 coalitions, Faifman points out that mandatory quotas aren鈥檛 always as helpful as they seem. Citing a study in Norway, where corporate boards are legally required to fill at least 40% of seats with women, Faifman explained that quotas may lead to an increase in independent directors, which ultimately reduces the value of the company.

SLOWLY B小优视频 SURELY

The absence of diversity on boards oftentimes isn鈥檛 a conscious decision. Members usually serve around 10 years; then their successors are likely to be chosen from within their network. 鈥淪o if it鈥檚 a male-dominated board, the people they know tend to be male, not female,鈥� said Zaderej.

The traditional pattern of networking to fill board seats is one of the targets for the women鈥檚 coalitions working for better representation.

鈥淲hat they鈥檙e doing is trying to make it easy by saying, 鈥楬ere are five board-ready women who can join your board and help your business,鈥欌�� said Zaderej. 鈥淚t disrupts that practice of, 鈥榃ell, who do we know?鈥欌��

Florida鈥檚 progress toward catching up to the national average of 30% can feel like two steps forward and one step back. Zaderej mentioned that she was one of three women on the Axogen board, but she was replaced by a man after her retirement.

Still, the data show that the coalition鈥檚 efforts are paying听off, even if it鈥檚 only inch by inch.