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Transitions By Nathan Hurst, Globe Correspondent, 1/8/06 The high-technology industry has more women serving as directors than a year ago, but the sector has less gender parity than the broader corporate world, a study released late last month reports. The 2005 Spencer Stuart Silicon Valley index compared the presence of women on the boards of high-tech firms against those in companies listed on the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index. "While they are making gains here, women have yet to break into Silicon Valley boards in the same numbers they have in corporate America overall," said Nayla Rizk, coauthor of the study, and a consultant in Spencer Stuart's board services practice.
Among high-tech companies surveyed, 44 percent had at least one woman director, slightly higher than the 41 percent recorded in 2004. Overall, women held 7.2 percent of directors' seats on Silicon Valley boards, also slightly higher than in 2004. Larger high-tech companies had better representation. Among those firms with $5 billion or more in annual revenue, 85 percent had at least one woman on the board. The smallest companies, those with $250 million or less in revenues, had women represented on only 39 percent of their boards. That did, however, represent an increase of 28 percent over 2004. Overall, only 11 percent of Silicon Valley high-tech companies had two women occupying board seats and none had more than two. In comparison, 88 percent of companies in the S&P 500 have at least one woman director, and 49 percent have two or more women on their boards. Of those S&P companies without female directors, 43 percent are high-tech companies. Rizk said that shows the high-tech industry should put extra effort into promoting gender equality within its leadership. "If Silicon Valley boards are going to substantially increase female representation," Rizk said, "they will need to reach deeper into the management infrastructure and give exceptional women at the vice president level an opportunity to serve on boards."
Workplace For those looking to climb the corporate ladder with their current employers, there's never been a better time to try to impress your bosses, according to a survey released last month. Right Management Consultants, the Boston career transition and organizational consulting firm, surveyed a large number of corporate leaders throughout 2005. It found that as more firms see their baby-boomer-age leaders retire or move on, the companies are looking to quickly groom the next generation of employees to take charge. Some 77 percent of companies surveyed said they aren't prepared for current executives to leave their posts because there are no clear-cut choices for potential replacements. ''As the baby boomers prepare to retire in great numbers, there are fewer of them to promote to the next level, as well as fewer to recruit from outside their organizations," said Chuck Mollor, regional vice president for Right Management. More firms now have to look inside for their futures: 43 percent of companies in the survey indicated they are now providing development and training programs to top-performing employees so they can take over in senior-level management positions in the near future. "More companies prefer to build their own future leaders from the ground up," said Mollor. "They are assessing their high-potential employees, to identify which ones have the qualities they desire in senior-level managers, and then provide them with the necessary training, coaching, and managerial experiences to fully grow them into upper management." Another 39 percent of surveyed companies said they have already started getting lower-level employees ready for the challenge to higher positions. The new trend has resulted in firms hiring fewer top executives from other organizations. Where it once had been commonplace, only 29 percent of firms surveyed reported hiring an executive away from a direct competitor, and only 20 percent are hiring people outside of their industries for upper-management positions. "Among the major reasons why executives recruited from the outside fail in their new jobs is their lack of familiarity and compatibility or fit with the company's culture," Mollor said. "Companies must have a good succession management system which tracks the executive qualities, skills, and abilities that have been the most instrumental in their managers' and organization's successes," he said. Stewart, Trump seen most like real bosses Work-related reality television programs were popular in 2005, with multiple versions of the hit show "The Apprentice," among others, topping the ratings charts. Small wonder then that Martha Stewart took top honors from frustrated workers in a recent survey as the character most like their own real-life bosses. The study, conducted and released by Badbossology.com, an online support website for workers, and Developments Dimensions International, a Pittsburgh human resources consulting firm, found 32 percent of respondents said Stewart's "acts-nice-because-she-has-to" strategy most closely mimics their own boss's behaviors. Fellow "Apprentice" boss Donald Trump, described most often by survey takers as "autocratic" and a "know-it-all," was picked by 24 percent of the workers who participated. "American Idol" dream-crusher Simon Cowell, cited as "obnoxious and pretentious" by workers, took third place with 20 percent of the vote. Other notable yet still less-than-desirable TV bosses recognized by workers: Jack, the "reluctant leader" boss from ABC's hit "Lost," who garnered 12 percent of the vote, and Gil Grissom, the "emotionally unavailable" technical guru from CBS's "CSI."
Employment Still looking for a job after recent job-market changes? This could be your year to shine. Even as the nation struggles to rebound from a turbulent 2005's economic wavering, the job market should be more active this year as firms look to hire additional workers and employees begin seeking better positions, according to a study of senior human resource executives by Novations, the Boston consulting and training organization. At least three-quarters of companies will maintain or increase their current hiring trends of 2005 this year, with 26 percent hinting they plan to increase the numbers of new hires they bring on board in 2006. Mike Hyter, chief operating officer at Novations, said only 14 percent of businesses surveyed plan on reducing hiring this year. And while job-seeking conditions could remain tough for many, the survey results could hint to a shift toward a more employee-centered market. "Two-thirds of organizations surveyed expect increased employee defections in the year ahead," Hyter said. "This increased employee mobility will itself require more recruitment to fill vacated positions." Nathan Hurst can be reached at nhurst@globe.com
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