panel conversation on 'Women on Boards, A Snail’s Pace?'

The lack of women board members has received significant press of late and points to a business problem that companies need to address. The benefits of advancing women to the board seem clear and the research points us to increased profitability, innovation and corporate governance when boards are more gender balanced. However, despite over 30 years of organisational initiatives, legislation, research and social change, the number of women on boards is growing at a snail's pace. In celebration of International Women's Day 2012, Aspire facilitated a unique teleconference discussion to debate, discuss and explore what future worlds of work women leaders aspire to.

Listen to the interview to hear Dr Samantha Collins, CEO of Aspire Companies and Founder of The Aspire Foundation, discuss some of the key findings of her PhD thesis 'What Future Worlds of Work do Women Aspire to and How Will They Get There?', share some of the best practice from over 10 years of working with organisations to retain women and debate the following questions:

• Are we right to assume women actually want to be on the boards of companies?
• If women do, what are the organisational strategies that are actually working to make this happen?
• If women don't, is there anything that can be done from an organisational or governmental perspective?
• What can women do to influence the rate of progress in their organisations?
• What are the individual success strategies that women can adopt themselves to get to the most senior levels in organisations?

In conversation with:

Avril Martindale, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Diversity Lead for London, UK
Avril has been a partner at the Magic Circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer since 1997. Avril recently took the reins in leading gender diversity initiatives in the London office and is passionate about humanity and positive changes that impact both client service and quality of life for employees.

Sarah Bond, Independent Consultant and formerly Head of Diversity & Employee Engagement, KPMG LLP
Sarah Bond is an independent consultant in the field of diversity, inclusion and organisational change. She was formerly Head of Diversity and Employee Engagement at KPMG LLP, one of the Big 4 global accounting firms. Sarah has been working in the field of gender diversity since volunteering on a women's development project in India over 20 years ago and spent four years at Opportunity Now, a membership organisation that empowers employers to accelerate change for women in the workplace.

Melanie Stubbing, President, Europe, Weightwatchers Inc.
Melanie is a global health advocate and President, Europe of Weight Watchers International, Inc., the world's leading provider of weight management services. Melanie will discuss role models, values and her top strategies for success for getting to and operating at board level. She will talk about how to achieve your vision by making life style choices that work, looking after yourself, saying no and knowing your real priorities.

Andree Simon, President, Women for Women International
Andrée is President of Women for Women International, a global non-profit organisation operating in places such as Rwanda, The Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan, that helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives. She is also a Board Member of Women Advancing Microfinance International. She is an adjunct professor of Microfinance at Georgetown University in the USA and a frequent public speaker on women's development. Andree is passionate about the capacity of leaders to evoke positive change in the world.

Click here to view the interview: panel conversation on Women on Boards, A Snail’s Pace?