Increasing Women on Nissan's Board: A Diversity Plan
This paper presents a strategic plan directed at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.'s upper management and board members, outlining concrete steps to increase female representation on the company's board of directors. Drawing on current scholarship and industry data, the plan establishes a 10% annual growth target toward gender equity, defines the roles of change agents, details communication strategies, and addresses both internal recruitment and mentoring of women executives. The paper also examines the business case for gender diversity, the constraints women face in reaching board-level positions, and the broader cultural challenges specific to Japan's automotive industry. Together, these elements form an evidence-based roadmap for meaningful and lasting organizational change.
- Introduction: The Case for Gender Equity at Nissan: Business rationale and barriers to women's board access
- Goals, Timeline, and Change Agent Roles: 10% annual target and change agent responsibilities
- Communicating the Change Initiative: Newsletter, social media, and press release strategies
- Selecting Women from Within the Organization: Internal vs. external recruitment of female board candidates
- Mentoring Women Managers for Board Membership: Sponsorship programs and mentoring for women executives
- Conclusion: Top-Down Commitment and Long-Term Benefits: Leadership support essential for lasting gender equity change
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- It grounds every recommendation in cited empirical research and industry sources, making each step of the plan evidence-based rather than aspirational.
- The paper maintains a clear audience focus — it is written directly for Nissan's upper management and board members, which keeps the tone authoritative and action-oriented throughout.
- It balances the financial business case for gender diversity with qualitative and cultural arguments, giving decision-makers multiple compelling reasons to act.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively uses synthesis — weaving together scholarship on glass-ceiling constraints, corporate governance research, and industry commentary — to build a cumulative argument. Rather than presenting sources in isolation, the writer connects each citation to a specific element of the plan, demonstrating how research directly informs practical recommendations.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a problem statement and business case, then moves logically through: goal-setting and timelines, change agent responsibilities, communication strategies, internal vs. external recruiting considerations, and mentoring program design. It closes with a call for visible top-down support. Each section addresses a distinct component of change management, making the overall structure function as a working implementation guide.
Introduction: The Case for Gender Equity at Nissan
Traditional glass ceilings that have long limited women's access to leadership positions are shattering around the world, and a growing number of multinational corporations have reached the same conclusion: gender equity in corporate boardrooms translates into improved organizational performance and productivity. A growing body of scholarship confirms that gender equity in the corporate boardroom can yield numerous other benefits for companies of all sizes and types, a conclusion that top leadership teams across virtually all industries and cultural settings have likewise embraced. There remains, however, a profound lack of progress in achieving this outcome in far too many multinational corporations, due in large part to the time required to accumulate the requisite experience in historically male-dominated industries — such as the automotive industry in which Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. currently competes.
The purpose of this plan is to provide upper management and board members of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter alternatively "Nissan" or "the company") with the information and guidance they need to facilitate an increase in the number of women on the board and to shift 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 greater emphasis must be placed on 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 remain applicable, in varying degrees, to Nissan's corporate culture and executive recruiting practices — issues that form the basis for this plan's focus.
The plan first establishes relevant goals and a 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 efforts will be communicated throughout the process. The plan also presents a discussion of the pros and cons of selecting an internal woman manager for board membership, followed by a description of the various factors that will be incorporated into the change plan to facilitate the mentoring of the company's women managers and their recommendation for board membership elsewhere.
References
Adams, H. D., & Greer, W. N. (2021). Successful ascent of female leaders in the pharmaceutical industry: A qualitative, transcendental, and phenomenological study. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, 40(7), 819–837.
Another 10%: Nissan hits goal on female managers. (2017). Automotive News, 91(6774), 36.
Bhasin, H. (2018, September 6). Marketing strategy of Nissan. Marketing 91. Retrieved from https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-nissan/
Canfield, J. (2022, January 11). How to get more women on corporate boards. Aprio. Retrieved from https://www.aprio.com
Carrigan, F. (2015). Women in the boardroom: A reappraisal. Deakin Law Review, 20(2), 321–343.
Gong, M., Zhang, Z., Jia, M., & Walls, J. L. (2021). Does having a critical mass of women on the board result in more corporate environmental actions? Evidence from China. Group & Organization Management, 46(6), 1106–1144.
Kline, A. (2015, September 23). Want more female CEOs? Then put more women on boards. American Banker, 1(147), 1–5.
Malik, P. (2021, December 15). The role of a change agent: Characteristics, types, skills. Whatfix. Retrieved from https://whatfix.com/blog/change-agent/
Nissan News. (2022). Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Retrieved from https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US
Nurture female leaders. (2022). Automotive News, 81(6227), 12.
Orbach, R. (2017). Bringing talent off the bench and into the game: The underrepresentation of women in the boardroom. Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law, 22(2), 203–256.
Pound, S. (2018). Developing the pipeline of women executives: Find out how sponsorship plays a key role in growing the number of women in the C-suite. Orange County Business Journal, 41(16), B-34.
Women on Boards. (2022). Forté Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.fortefoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=women_boards
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.