Week 12: Professionals

Triina Kiilaspea

Dysfunction in the Boardroom (Groysberg,

2013)
Key Issues/Findings:
Women hold only 16.6% of Fortune 500 seats in
2012
W0men had to be more qualified than men
Large disconnect between females experiences
and male perceptions
Women pay higher personal price than men
Most women still face gender-related hurdles

Dysfunction in the Boardroom (Groysberg,

2013)
Arguments:
Not enough representation of women on boards
Build and strengthen group dynamics
Recruit more female and diverse director
candidates
Develop more female and diverse candidates
internally
Conduct rigorous and regular board assessments
and evaluations

Dysfunction in the Boardroom (Groysberg,

2013)
Methods:
Qualitative
Survey
Small sample size of 398 people from 2
companies
Vast majority were US directors

Dysfunction in the Boardroom (Groysberg,

2013)
Strengths

Weaknesses

Easy to read and understand Sample size was too small for
conclusive results
Short and to the point

Not a fair representation of

men to compare to the
women

Acknowledged that most of

his results could be due to
other factors

Results based on
participants self-perceptions

Dysfunction in the Boardroom (Groysberg,

2013)
Critical Analysis:
Women continue to face gender-related hurdles
More than great talent is needed to make a great
board

Discussion Questions
In the article it was mentioned that most men actually agree that
women bring fresh perspectives to a business that are seen as useful,
but yet most still fail to acknowledge these insights, why do you
think that is?
A significantly larger percentage of female board members in the US
were divorced compared to female board members from outside the
US, what are some factors that can account for this difference?
Do you think that mandatory quotas should be in place in Canadian
and American boards?

Reasons Women Chartered Accountants Leave

Public Accounting Firms (Wallace, 2009)
Key Issues/Findings:
Not enough research on the reasons women
leave firms before partnerships
Research rarely addresses linkages between
reasons for joining and later leaving firms
Absence of aspirations to become a partner
Frustrations with value of services delivered
Work-family issues surprisingly not a main
reason

Reasons Women Chartered Accountants Leave

Public Accounting Firms (Wallace, 2009)
Arguments:
Different reasons why more women CAs leave
accounting firms than men before reaching
partnership level

Reasons Women Chartered Accountants Leave

Public Accounting Firms (Wallace, 2009)
Methods:
Qualitative
Narrative inquiry
13 participants

Reasons Women Chartered Accountants Leave

Public Accounting Firms (Wallace, 2009)
Strengths

Weaknesses

Objective of the text is

realized

Sample size was very small

Includes/explains other similar

studies to offer more info and
comparison

Lack of male comparison

Diversity of participants

Material and topic was not

very interesting

Interview process

Reasons Women Chartered Accountants Leave

Public Accounting Firms (Wallace, 2009)
Critical Analysis:
Helps aid our knowledge of the subject
Entering the field with no ambition

Discussion Questions
In the text it is mentioned that a significant
number of women who leave their firms do
return to a different firm at a later date yet most
still do not obtain partnerships at their new firm.
A major reason for most leaving in the first place
was a lack of ambition to become a partner so
why do you think they are putting themselves
back in the same situation?

Discussion Question
Do you think that the reasons of an absence of
aspirations to become a partner and frustrations
with the value of services delivered would be
common reasons shared between men and women?
If you were faced with similar circumstances in
your occupation as these women would you also
choose to leave to pursue another job or would you
stick it out if you have already invested so much
time into it?