如何推动女性进入董事会

    企业领导们也必须帮助让胜任的女性进入董事会，无论是在管理岗位上言传身教，还是培训她们成为称职的董事。哈姆林说，马来西亚政府通过提供官方的董事预备课程、帮助培训女性人才。在美国，女性可以在大学或者Intrabond这样的公司学习高管教育课程。哈姆林说，这是必要的一步，就算男性董事没这种要求。她说：“尝试将一个新的群体带入董事会，按董事会现有的标准，你拿的薪酬可能太高了。”

    传统的自由市场观点虽然不足以推动女性进入董事会，但它最终将给公司带来最佳的管理策略。越来越多的证据表明，优秀的管理策略包括选举那些可以给董事会带来多样化经验和理念的董事。

    “我不明白为什么美国（在这方面）落在后面，“哈姆林说。“但如果你开始看到这些……先行的国家获得了成效，那么这股趋势就不会回头了，因为它们已经这么做了，它们已经证明给世界看了。”

    Leaders at companies will also have to help get qualified women there, either by mentoring women on the management track, or training them to be good board members. In Malaysia, the government is helping to train capable women by offering official board preparation courses, Hamlin says. In the United States, women can take executive education courses at universities or companies like Intrabond. This is a necessary step, says Hamlin, even if it wasn't required of their male board member colleagues. "When you're trying to move a new group into the boardroom, you're overcompensating by the standards that are in the board already," she says.

    While a traditional free-market attitude may not be enough to place women on boards, it will ultimately reward the companies with the best management strategies. Evidence is mounting that good management strategies include electing board members who can bring diverse experiences and ideas to the table.

    "I don't know why we're sluggish," says Hamlin, "but if you start to see these … spunky countries get results, then there's no turning back because you say, 'they've done it. They've shown the world.'"