Skip to main content Skip to Footer

LATEST THINKING

Tech experience

Women’s stepping stone to the corporate boardroom?
Download the
Point-Of-View

It is well known that there is a real shortage of women in corporate boardrooms today. For example, only one in five board members at S&P companies are women.

To understand the gender composition of corporate boards and the role technology plays in the careers of female board members, Accenture examined women’s representation on the boards of more than 500 Forbes Global 2000 companies in 39 countries.

WOMEN’S OPPORTUNITY

The research found that female members of corporate boards of directors are nearly twice as likely as their male counterparts to have professional technology experience.
Male and Female Board Members with Professional Tech Experience
Source: Accenture Research based on S&P Capital IQ data and company websites
In seven of the ten most-represented countries in our study, the percentage of female board members with technology experience exceeded the percentage of male board members with such experience.
Board Members with Professional Tech Experience - by Country (%)
This is the percentage representation of boards with tech experience among the total men and women board members within the country

Source: Accenture Research based on S&P Capital IQ data and company website
In all but two industry sectors, capital markets & diversified financials, and insurance (both part of the financial services sector), the percentage of women directors with technology experience exceeds the number of men with technology experience.
Board Members with Professional Tech Experience - by Industry (%)
Calculated as “Men or Women in the industry’s board with technology experience/Total men or women in the country board”

Source: Accenture Research based on S&P Capital IQ data and company websites

Our Perspective

These findings suggest that at least at the highest levels, companies put a premium on female executives with professional technology experience. As digital transforms virtually every industry in every country around the world, companies increasingly recognize that, without greater technology knowledge guiding strategy and operations, they’re going to have trouble anticipating the forces shaping their industries.

Directors need a robust understanding of technology, and, as companies seek to achieve gender balance on their boards, professional technology experience is a differentiator for women.

Download the
Point-Of-View

SUGGESTED CONTENT