UD Hosts 2020 Women on Boards National Conversation on Board Diversity
Last November, more than 50 business leaders gathered on campus to discuss the presence
of women in boardrooms across the country. Hosted by the Satish & Yasmin Gupta College
of Business and sponsored by IMAGINE Well Inc., the 2020 Women on Boards organization
brought their annual event National Conversation on Board Diversity to UD. The conversation
around which the event is centered aims to increase the percentage of women on corporate
boards to 20 percent by 2020. Currently, the percentage of women on the boards of
Fortune 1000 companies is 17.7 percent.
Specific goals of the campaign include redefining corporate governance and gender
diversity standards -- making gender diversity in the boardroom a priority -- as well
as creating a cultural imperative for corporate action. Campaign supporters include
individuals, organizations and companies that embrace the principle that diversity
in the boardroom encourages good corporate decision-making.
For the November panel at UD, the presenter was Vicki Lockhart, executive director
of IMAGINE Well Inc. Panelists included Terry Allen, CEO of 1016 Media and founder
of the Emerging Women CEOs Business Camp, which is also known as Sister CEO; Arlivia
Gamble-Swann, a State Farm vice president; Joy Macci, CEO of Joy of Sport and founder
of the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of the United States National Committee for United
Nations Women (USNC-UN); Nicole A. Robertson, a director at DART; and Angeles Valenciano,
president of the National Diversity Council. Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau
board member Kimberly C. Fields moderated the discussion.
"Probably the most important point that I came away with is that we, as women, need
to take charge of our own destinies and not allow others to tell us what were capable
of doing or being. Also, how important it is to teach our young girls that they're good
enough and that all things are possible through hard work, dedication and self-promotion,"
said Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business Assistant Dean of Enrollment Management
Nicole Anderson.
2020 Women on Boards has held 20 similar conversations throughout the U.S. as well
as in Madrid, Spain. There have been more than 1,000 participants, including CEOs,
directors, professors, lawyers and representatives from a range of other professions
and walks of life.
