Harvey Nash, the leading executive search and leadership consulting firm and The University of Hong Kong, HKU Business School have announced the third instalment of the Women's Directorship Programme (WDP) to be held in Hong Kong in October and November 2014. The international board preparedness programme, exclusively for women, was created in answer to the worldwide business community's call to tackle the existing gender imbalance in boardrooms.
With less than 10% of women represented at board level positions internationally, despite comprising over 45% of the global workforce, gender balance progress is stalling. Barriers to change include the existing entrenched male networks and the perceived lack of visible female talent.
The answer lies in enhancing the confidence of female leaders and working to raise their visibility on a global scale.
As a result, Harvey Nash and The University of Hong Kong created the certificated Women's Directorship Programme in early 2013, with a view of enabling participants to be a more effective board member and to increase the supply of board-ready women executives across geographies and business sectors.
The programme is led by international faculty members of The University of Hong Kong and consists of real life case studies and thought leadership delivered by guest speakers. The involvement of senior business leaders really sets the programme apart, providing unprecedented levels of access to their boardroom insights and experiences. Confirmed guest speakers include:
- Sir Roger Carr, Chairman of BAE Systems
- Anne Minto, INED of Shire and Tate & Lyle
- Donald Brydon, Chairman of Sage Group and Royal Mail
- Dr. Raymond Ch’ien, Chairman of Hang Seng Bank and MTR
- Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman & CEO of Schneider Electric
- John Rice, Vice Chairman of GE and President & CEO of GE, Global Growth and Operations
- Rick Haythornthwaite, Chairman of Centrica and MasterCard
Kirti Lad, Director of the Board Practice, Harvey Nash Executive Search Asia Pacific said: "Diversity of thought is an essential part of board governance, and balanced boards are proven to result in greater business success. Through the Women’s Directorship Programme we are committed to unlocking the talent pipeline and empowering female leaders to gain the confidence and skills needed to secure board positions."
Through the distinguished alumni programme the participants have access to on-going support, and benefit from a global network of peers and senior business leaders.
Professor Larry Qiu, Director of Executive Education, Faculty of Business and Economics, said: "The Women's Directorship Programme enables participants to develop board communication and management skills, develop tailored career strategies, gain access to senior business leaders and benefit from peer-to-peer learning from high achieving women across different business sectors and cultures.
"We have seen some outstanding results from the participants to date through the increased visibility of the alumni. Our partnership with Harvey Nash demonstrates our commitment to creating lasting change and developing the top female talent of the future."
The 2014 programme includes six modules, taught over two three-day sessions (October 9-11 and November 13-15, 2014):
- The Real-World Roles of Board and Committee Members
- Collaborative Leadership (new module - how to develop collaborative networks)
- Persuasive Communication and Conflict Resolutions
- Public Company and Securities Market Regulation
- Board Appointment and Strategic Leadership
- Ethics and Compliance
Sir Roger Carr, Chairman of BAE Systems, WDP guest speaker said:
“Having a mixed gender board is absolutely in the best interests of business. By raising awareness of the importance of women on boards, it serves to increase the engagement of companies to make a change, and to encourage women themselves to join in the process, put themselves forward, and ultimately make boardrooms better.”
Donald Brydon, Chairman of Sage Group and Royal Mail, WDP guest speaker:
“In order to produce a pipeline of exceptional women for boards, we need to have more initiatives like the Women’s Directorship Programme, bringing together academia and practitioners to share their experiences and explain how behaviour in the boardroom is different to behaviour in the rest of your corporate life.”
Please visit www.wdpglobal.com for more information.
