ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to explore the context of women on boards by exploring global trends around the issue of gender diversity at board level. Gender diversity can be viewed as being linked to various business benefits that include improved corporate governance and increased profit margins. The importance of prevalent challenges and barriers to entry will also be highlighted in the context of broader societal and organizational influences. As several female board members were interviewed, the key themes from their interviews will be integrated and aligned to global best practice research within the emerging markets context. The chapter looks at recommendations regarding key areas of improvement and suggests levers that could be developed and adopted to increase the effectiveness of recruiting more women to boards. Executive experience and individual leadership journeys create a great foundation for skilled board members. The countries that exhibited the cultural characteristics tended to have lower female board representation.
