Number of companies with female directors on board increases
By siliconindia   |   Friday, 19 November 2010, 10:41 IST   |    1 Comments
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Bangalore: The percentage of Silicon Valley public companies having female director on their board has gone up to a new high, reveals a study from executive recruiters Spencer Stuart. According to the study, 56 percent of Silicon Valley companies now have at least one women director on their board, reports Pui-Wing Tam of the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, over the past one year, overall 20 percent of directors added to Silicon Valley companies were women. This year's analysis largely covers late 2009 and early 2010 as Spencer Stuart bases its annual study on proxy materials from public companies. Jonathan Visbal of Spencer Stuart, who co-wrote the study said, "There's been a growing critical mass of women on boards" in Silicon Valley, and "now it's really come to fruition". Yahoo has appointed Patti Hart as International Game Technology Chief Executive in June. Similarly, Applied Materials hired former Ernst & Young partner Susan James last December. Another company Autodesk recruited Nokia's executive Mary McDowell in March. These are some of the local public companies that have added women directors to their board. More female directors on Silicon Valley boards indicate how local companies have matured and are pushing for more board diversity. However, compared to male counterparts, the number of females on boards is still very less. Despite the rising number of companies with a female director, women make up just 8.6 percent of all Silicon Valley board members, according to Spencer Stuart's study.

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