The Board of The Chicago Network determined that one of its priorities in carrying out its mission for the advancement of women is to help address the chronically low numbers of women serving on public company boards of directors. Gender equality continues to be an issue in the U.S. workforce, as well as abroad, although Europe's leaders are starting to make a difference according to Harvard Business Review's "What the U.S. Can Learn From Europe About Gender Equality in the Workplace." This deficit is compounded by the fact that there is a "critical mass” of women members needed to permit a board to benefit fully from gender diversity, according to a study by Wellesley Centers for Women. You can find some of the most recent surveys and reports with respect to gender diversity on boards here, under the "Benchmarking" headline.

TCN formalized its efforts to boost the number of women serving on boards by establishing the Women on Boards Committee and has begun to build a holistic approach to train, mentor and facilitate those qualified women in pursuing their goal of joining public company boards of directors.

The number 1 step to securing a board seat is self-promotion, according to The Wall Street Journal. To that end, TCN has encouraged its members who have expressed interest and are qualified, to provide biographical information on their education, employment history, accomplishments, industry and financial expertise as well as the names of the organizations and companies on whose boards they may currently serve. To the extent members' employers require approval for employees to serve on outside boards, members have secured that approval.

Interested in serving on a board but want to improve your Director skills first? Education programs are offered across the country.

Looking for board candidates? Selected Search Firms/Friends can go immediately to theSearch Firm Login option on the Home Page menu to begin their search of member candidates. If this is your first visit to the site and you would like to apply for Selected Search Firm/Friends status, please contact Kate Bensen, Executive Director, TCN, to obtain a user name and password. She can be reached at 312-787-1979 or kbensen@thechicagonetwork.org.