Woman’s Place is in the Boardroom

Illustrated by Barbara Shore

'The FTSE 100 Cross-Company Mentoring Programme is beginning to have an impact upon the rate of appointment of women to senior executive and non-executive roles in the UK. There is more to do, of course, but this innovative, business-to-business initiative is delivering results. This book is a fine distillation of what has been learned from the Programme.' Sir John Parker, Chairman, National Grid plc. 'Ignoring the benefits of having more talented women in the boardroom is bad business. Having more women means extending the portfolio of skills at the top, providing female role models for younger high potential women and guaranteeing that all levels of management are filled with the best executives, and A Woman's Place is in the Boardroom: The Roadmap has some good ideas in all these areas.' Meg Munn, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office 'Increasingly European countries are encouraging their businesses to have more women board members. The UK is ahead of much of Europe but still has more to do. The Cross-Company Mentoring Programme is making real progress and this book gives practical help to companies in improving this pan-European business issue.' Peter Erskine, former Chief Executive of O2, non-executive Director of Telefonica 'In business management we are taught that good planning makes for good decisions and that it's the planning, not the plan, that makes the difference. The 'Roadmap' is exactly the kind of tool women executives can use to plan well and make good decisions.' Teresa A. 'Terri' Dial, CEO of Consumer Banking, North America and Global Head of Consumer Strategy, Citigroup Inc. 'If you read only one book this year, make it this one. Whatever your role and gender I guarantee the ideas explored in only 120 pages of pragmatic text will bring rich rewards.' - Anna Allan, People Management 'Wow. This is the book I've been waiting most of my business life for. For my entire career I've had to be taught by individuals. There has been nothing to read that has understood what women feel and challenge how they deal with life at the top. A Woman's Place is in the Boardroom doesn't just pave the way to solving this, it sorts everything out for you. I really felt stirred reading it.' - Elsa Celab, Human Resources

• Introduction          The state of play Deciding to engage         The written rules of engagement The unwritten rules  A sense of direction Cultivating board qualities Setting out your stall  Mind the gap      Board games Over the horizon Afterword The point is to do something