How Gender Equity in Corporate Boardrooms Promotes Organizational Success

Plan and Instructions for Upper Management and Board Members at Nissan

Today, traditional glass ceilings that have limited women’s access to leadership positions are shattering around the world and growing numbers of multinational corporations have come to the same conclusion that gender equity in corporate boardrooms translates into improved organizational performance and productivity. Likewise, a growing body of scholarship confirms that gender equity in the corporate boardroom can have numerous other benefits for companies of all sizes and types. In addition, this same conclusion has been reached by top leadership teams in companies of all sizes and types, competing in virtually all industries and cultural settings. There remains a profound lack of progress, however, in achieving this outcome in far too many multinational corporations due in large part to the amount of time that it requires to accumulate the requisite experience in historically male-dominated industries such as the automotive industry in which Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. competes at present.

The purpose of this plan and instructions is to provide upper management and board members of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (hereinafter alternatively “Nissan” or “the company”) with the information and guidance (hereinafter alternatively “the plan”) they need in order to facilitate the increase in the number of women on the board and changing perspectives about the value of such membership to the company’s present and future success. Although the company has made some modest progress in this regard in recent years, far more emphasis must be placed in achieving gender equity in Nissan’s board of directors in order for aspiring female candidates to even have the opportunity for consideration.

The results of a study by Orbach (2017) identified numerous constraints that many women typically encounter in their efforts to break through a seemingly solid glass ceiling, including “low representation of women in traditional pipelines to board seats, lack of flexibility in the workplace, male-driven work cultures, and disproportionate mentorship and sponsorship opportunities” (p. 203). Unfortunately, all of these constraints are still applicable, in varying degrees, to Nissan’s corporate culture and executive recruiting practices, issues that form the basis for this plan’s focus.

First, the plan establishes relevant goals and timeline to achieve them, followed by a description of the roles of change agents selected to champion this initiative and the manner in which change initiatives will be communicated throughout the process and by whom. In addition, the plan presents a discussion concerning the pros and cons of selecting a woman from management who is eligible for board membership in the company for board membership is followed a description of the various factors that will be included in the change plan to facilitate the mentoring of the company’s women managers and suggested for board membership elsewhere.

Goals and timeline as well as change agents’ training and roles

The goal of this plan is to increase gender diversity in Nissan’s upper management and representation on its board of directors by 10% each year until gender equity is achieved or exceeded, a goal that was established early on in 2004 by Nissan’s former chief executive officer (Another 10%, 2017). Moreover, notwithstanding the major boost to the company’s global brand and reputation, there is growing recognition among the company’s current top leadership that achieving this goal is in Nissan’s best financial interests. For instance, according to Kline (2015), “Firms with higher [female] board representation not only generate higher returns for investors, they tend to have stronger corporate governance and ethics practices, a better feel for consumer preferences and are more likely to consider sustainability factors when setting corporate strategy and making business decisions” (p. 2).

In fact, the research to date indicates that increased gender diversity on boards of directors can have other benefits which are not readily quantifiable but which nevertheless also contribute to organizational performance and productivity (Gong et al., 2021). Furthermore, achieving gender equity in the company’s boardroom can also help Nissan’s overall financial success. For instance, according to Orbach (2017), “A balanced boardroom with more women’s perspectives will lead to an improved understanding of a company’s stakeholders and its customers’ needs. Increased diversity can also enhance a board’s ability to meet its fiduciary duties” (p. 203). In sum, increasing gender diversity on Nissan’s board of directors is not a mere exercise in corporate greenwashing but is rather a mandated, evidence-based initiative that stands to benefit the company in multiple ways.

Based on the current percentage representation of just two female board members out of 12 total, this goal can be achieved within a 4-year time period assuming that the plan and instructions are followed as set forth herein.

The general roles of the change agent who is tasked with overseeing this process will include the following:

· Communicating how increasing women representation on the board of directors is beneficial for both the company, its employees and shareholders;

· Listening to the involved stakeholders to gain feedback and incorporate it in the implementation process;

· Understanding employees’ reactions to the change initiative and reducing resistance to this change;

· Actively engaging with employees by conducting change management exercises;

· Encouraging and supporting employees to become change champions and to promote the plan; and,

· Providing feedback on challenges facing the change management lead and lessons learned for future initiatives (adapted from Malik, 2019).

Although change agents for the plan will be selected primarily based on their past experience in serving in this capacity thereby limiting the amount of specialized training they will require to implement and administer the plan during its operation, these individuals will be periodically interviewed to determine whether they feel they require any specialized training to become more effective in achieving the goals of the plan. In the event such specialized training is identified as a need for the change agents, such training can be provided in-house if the expertise exists or outsourced to a competent third-party provider.

How will the change initiative be communicated throughout the process and by whom?

The company should build in its global reputation for integrity and reliability by trumpeting the initiative throughout the organization as well in ways that reach the general global public. Therefore, the change initiative for increasing female representation on the company’s board of directors will be communicated throughout the company during its operation using several methods, including Nissan’s monthly newsletter that is sent to all employees (Nissan news, 2022). This strategy is not only highly cost-effective, it will serve as a motivational tool that can help encourage other management-minded women at Nissan to follow suit. As Kline (2015) emphasizes, “When women are added to a board, female employees at that company notice” (p. 3).

In addition, the change initiative will also be communicated through the company’s several social media platforms as well as through press releases to mainstream media and specialty media sources. These corporate communications will specifically focus on women’s rights and the automotive industry to update the general public in general and its target market in particular concerning the goals of the plan and its overarching purpose to increase the gender diversity of the company’s board of directors today and in the future.

Will your organization select a woman from management who is eligible for board membership in your own organization?

Recruiting potential female board members with the requisite background and experience internally may be problematic due to the limited number of candidates in the company’s current executive training pipeline. This limitation is due in large part to the lingering perception on the part of some senior executives that gender should not be taken into account when recruiting, promoting or otherwise grooming leadership candidates. For instance, according to Carrigan (2015), “The gender composition of corporate boards is secondary in a modern corporate capitalist economy to the quest to recruit those who possess the individual qualities required to maximize profits” (p. 322).

This shortsighted perspective, however, discounts or even completely ignores the above-mentioned multiple ancillary benefits that gender diversity can provide major global corporations, including those the compete in traditionally male-dominated industries such as the automotive industry. The stellar performance of the existing two female members of Nissan’s board of directors amply demonstrates this reality. Furthermore, the plan’s goal of increasing the representation of women executives on Nissan’s board of directors until gender equity is reached is no longer a “secondary” goal for the company but has rather been elevated to the status of an organization-wide mandate.

Therefore, not only should Nissan place a high priority on recruiting new women from within the company to participate in the company’s leadership training programming, it should also consider recruiting board-ready women executives from outside the organization. For this purpose, Forté's official database of Global Board Ready Women provides major multinational corporations such as Nissan with access to a database that includes more than 4,000 senior female executives who possess the experience and background need to assume a position on a multinational corporation’s board of directors (Women on boards, 2022).

What will you include in the change plan that helps your own women managers be mentored and suggested for board membership elsewhere?

According to Pound (2018), one of the most effective ways to increase representation is for female executives on boards of director is to sponsor the next generation of qualified candidates who can enact implement needed changes in the corporate boardroom. In many ways, though, mentoring is not only among the most effective ways to help female leadership candidates along their career paths, it is also a valuable strategy for raising awareness of these opportunities throughout the company today. For example, according to Canfield (2022), “[Mentoring] programs are designed to raise the visibility of qualified women leaders and give them access at companies [which] can benefit from women board membership” (p. 2). While it is reasonable to suggest that Nissan has not necessarily intentionally blocked women from attaining executive positions in the past, the board of director’s current lack of gender equity underscores the need for additional efforts in this area.

In addition, a study by Adams and Greer (2021) investigated the different types of strategies that major companies have used in the past and more recently to implement mentoring programs for women executives. This study determined that providing female leadership candidates with sponsors and mentors were among the most effective in helping aspiring women overcome the challenges they routinely face in becoming executives (Adams & Greer, 2021). In other words, even the most otherwise-qualified women may require some assistance in navigating the obstacles that remain firmly in place in highly masculine societies and industries in reaching their leadership goals. The issues are especially applicable to masculine-dominated Japanese corporations that are characterized by longstanding negative attitudes about women in leadership positions.

While it would not necessarily be in the company’s best interests to heavily invest in mentoring programs for aspiring women leaders only to recommend them for board membership in another company, Nissan stands to benefit greatly by grooming female leaders that the company’s competitors admire and want to serve in their own organizations. In other words, one mark of the success of the plan would be to groom and promote women executives who are in demand by Nissan’s competitors. In this regard, the editors of Automotive News point out that, “Automakers need to make an extra effort to retain and promote talented female leaders. Female executives contribute perspectives and experiences that the industry needs, especially as female consumers make up an ever-increasing share of vehicle buyers” (Nurture female leaders, 2022, p. 12). In fact, Nissan’s target market has shifted from a male-dominated audience to one that places a higher priority on appealing to men and women who are in search of a high-quality, well-designed vehicle for their own use as well as their family’s needs. For example, according to Bhasin (2018):

A customer of Nissan is the middle-income group individuals in the age group of 25- 45 years who are looking for a family vehicle. While SUV's fit to the pocket of the upper-middle-income group the hatchbacks and sedan sold by Nissan in markets are meant for customers in the age group of 35-45 years. (para. 4)