Women's Corporate Board Readiness Program
SANTA CLARA, Calif., On September 30, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 826 into law, mandating that there be at least one woman on the board of directors in California-based companies by the end of 2019—a number that will increase to as many as three for certain companies over time.
To facilitate the professionalism and targeting of new board members who will be added as part of the new law and the current political environment, the Silicon Valley Executive Center at Santa Clara University is leveraging its expertise in corporate board governance and requirements to launch a unique and differentiated program to prepare women to take on these directorships.
The program will be called Women’s Corporate Board Readiness (WCBR). It is soliciting women applicants who are high-performing, accomplished, and ambitious and have already achieved much in their careers, and who desire to take their talent, leadership, and executive skills to the next level by serving on boards.
The Women’ Corporate Board Readiness program (WCBR) is designed for women with a minimum of seven years of senior-level corporate or non-profit management experience. It will consist of a four day in-class experience, two webinars and four exclusive hours of coaching.
Background
Organizations with women in leadership positions perform better than those that don’t. They surpass others in social responsiveness, sustainability, and financial performance. Recent evidence also indicates that companies with female board members are more successful than those without women, a key concern for organizational competitiveness.
The WCBR program will feature faculty who are highly successful women board members and other experts in the field.
“This course allows you to learn the essential legal, regulatory, and operating knowledge you will need to serve on boards of directors, and at the same time connect with, and learn from, women who have achieved success as board members” said Theresa Strickland, the program’s faculty director.
The course’s facilitators and mentors are highly successful women board members and other experts in the field. Among one of the Women’s Corporate Board Readiness facilitators is SB 826 co-author Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire.
“Our center prides itself on building programs in partnership with practicing experts in the field, and this program is no exception. Many of our facilitators, like Besty, bring critical learning value to our participants” said Dennis Lanham, who leads the Silicon Valley Executive Center.
The next session will take place October 3,4,31 and Nov 1, 2019 and will accommodate 30 attendees.
About Leavey School of Business
Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, one of the most dynamic business environments in the world, the Leavey School of Business combines academic excellence in the 450-year Jesuit tradition, with an energetic, innovative spirit that typifies the region. For more information, see www.scu.edu/business.
About Santa Clara University
Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley—the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University’s stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís. Ranked the No. 1 regional university in the West by U.S. News & World Report, SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121