50/50 Women on Boards

We’re absolutely delighted to share that our very own Jaime L. Lee, NACD.DC has been named one of LA's Most Influential by Los Angeles Times! Jaime is more than just a leader in her field – she’s a true trailblazer. Her vision and dedication have pushed boundaries and opened doors for countless women in leadership roles. This honor reflects not only her professional achievements but also her incredible impact on our community. Beyond her work, Jaime is a mentor, a role model, and a source of inspiration for so many of us. Her recognition as one of LA’s Most Influential is a testament to the difference she’s making every day. Please join us in giving a huge congratulations to Jaime Lee on this amazing honor. We’re so proud of her and can’t wait to see all the incredible things she’ll continue to do!

We are proud to share that Amira K.S. Barger, MBA,CVA,CFRE, EVP, Health DEI, was named one of the 50 Women to Watch for Boards by 50/50 Women on Boards, hand-selected for her experience, business knowledge, qualifications, and expertise for public board service. Recently, she was also named Woman of the Year by Women Health Care Executives, Top 100 Executives by Involve People, Top CMOs of 2024 by the CMO Alliance, Top 50 Global DEI Professionals by OnConferences, Top 100 People Leaders by Mogul, Fearlessly Authentic Leader by Leaderology, and 30 under 40 in Healthcare Innovation by Business Insider. Go Amira!

We’re excited to share that our CEO, Heather Marie Spilsbury, was featured in the inaugural issue of McKinsey & Company's new newsletter, @Network Navigator! This month's focus is the Path to the Board, where Heather provides profound insights into the complexities and rewards of achieving gender diversity on corporate boards. Read about her journey and the strategic steps to foster inclusive business environments. #WomenOnBoards #GenderDiversity #Leadership #McKinsey

Joanne Schroeder, P.E., one of our inimitable 2023 50 Women to Watch finalists, is a driven and experienced entrepreneur, board member, and executive with over 25 years of experience in driving growth in both private (small to mid-sized) and public companies. Her career has been dedicated to the civil and environmental engineering services industry, where she has established herself as an expert in enterprise digital transformations. Joanne has catalyzed transformations in 40% of the Fortune 100 in the environmental, health, safety, and sustainability (EHS&S)/ESG functions. Joanne’s career reflects a demonstrated track record of optimizing growth and profitability, as well as providing leadership through business transactions. She has served on multiple internal and external boards and audit committees, showcasing her commitment to governance and strategic oversight. Currently, Joanne is a Vice President and Officer at Arcadis, a global publicly traded engineering consultancy headquartered in The Netherlands. She also serves as a Corporate Board Member for Adolfson and Peterson, a billion-dollar construction company headquartered in Minnesota. In addition, Joanne is a Board Member and Chair of the audit committee for Goodwill OC, the largest nonprofit in Orange County with operating revenue of $140 million. She also contributes her expertise to the Advisory Council for the University of Southern California’s Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. We are thrilled to recognize Joanne as one of our 2023 50 Women to Watch! #WomenOnBoards #BoardDiversity #Leadership #Engineering #Sustainability #ESG

We're happy to share that 50/50 Women on Boards has recently been featured in Forbes! In her recent article, Liz Elting confirms that despite encouraging progress, we still have a long way to go for women in leadership roles. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eQKGUt6t Key takeaways from the article: - The Associated Press' annual compensation survey found that 25 women are among the highest-paid CEOs at S&P 500 companies, a record high. - Despite the progress, women still represent just over 7% of the 341 CEOs surveyed. - The median pay package for women CEOs rose by 21% to $17.6 million, outpacing the 12% increase for their male counterparts. - The share of board seats held by women in the Russell 3000 has stagnated at 29.7%, with new appointments for women sharply declining to 30.7% in 2024. - Companies with women CEOs have boards closer to gender parity, with 41.4% of board positions held by women. While it's encouraging to see progress, the article underscores that we still have a long way to go. The urgent need for solutions to address barriers to women’s advancement is clear, especially as the current rate suggests gender parity on boards won't be achieved until 2045. Thank you to Forbes and Liz for shedding light on this important issue. At 50/50 Women on Boards, we remain dedicated to accelerating this progress and ensuring that women have equal representation in leadership roles. Together, we can make a difference. #WomenOnBoards #GenderParity #Leadership #5050WomenOnBoards #ForbesFeature #WomenInBusiness #Equity

Congratulations to Betty Liu, CPA, on being featured in the LA Business Journal! Betty is a powerhouse of experience and leadership at CBIZ & MHM. As Director, she has redefined her department's approach with innovative strategies and a commitment to excellence. Liu’s leadership goes beyond management—she fosters a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and inclusivity. Her dedication to gender diversity is evident in her active participation with 50/50 Women on Boards, where she advocates for greater representation of women in corporate leadership. Liu’s mentoring efforts, both within and outside her organization, highlight her commitment to developing future leaders and aligning with our mission to advance women in the boardroom. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gzpe4vFy

We're delighted to share a behind-the-scenes look at the moment we revealed to our 2024 finalists that they had been selected. Each finalist joined a Zoom call, thinking it was part of the interview process, only to discover they had made it through our rigorous selection process! Our selection committee had a challenging task, carefully scoring these esteemed 50 finalists. After our initial internal screening and automated scoring process, each finalist was reviewed by two of our esteemed committee members. The inaugural 50 Women to Watch for Boards finalists were meticulously chosen based on rigorous criteria, including primary expertise, suitability for board committee service, resumes, short essay answers, and video submissions. This selection process was guided by an exclusive committee comprising leaders from stock exchanges and board directors such as: - David Chun, Founder & CEO of Equilar - Maria Ariza, CEO of BIVA - James D. White, Board Chair of The Honest Company - Joe Hurd, Non-Executive Director and Managing Partner of The Katama Group, LLC - John Driver, NACD.DC, Chairman and CEO of Lynx Technology - Gabriella Halasz-Clarke, VP Governance Solutions Nasdaq - Janet S. Wong, Independent Board Director Lucid Group, Inc. - Maria Contreras Sweet, 24th Administrator, US Small Business Administration - Nicole Rosenberg, Vice President, Governance and Sustainability, TMX Group - Ariane Bourassa Head of Sustainability and ESG Strategy, TMX Group - Kris Pederson, EY Americas, Center for Board Matters Leader - Diana J Ingram, Independent Director of ECMC Group We are excited to work with these diverse and skilled leaders, helping them advance to board positions. Join us in celebrating their achievements and stay tuned for more updates! The 2024 50 Women to Watch for Boards campaign is sponsored by EY, McKesson, Mastercard #50WomenToWatch #BoardDiversity #WomenOnBoards #Leadership

We are incredibly pleased to announce the launch of our second annual 50 Women to Watch for Boards list for 2024! This esteemed cohort showcases a diverse group of exceptionally qualified women leaders from various sectors across North America who are ready to serve on public company boards. This year’s list provides unparalleled opportunities for businesses and recruiters to access validated board-ready, first-time director candidates by location, primary expertise, industry, race, and ethnicity. Our finalists have received personal calls from our executive team notifying them of their selection. Additionally, they will benefit from unparalleled exposure and visibility through our campaign partners, Equilar and Nasdaq. Throughout the year, 50/50 Women on Boards will provide customized training and visibility through our networks and events to help propel the board careers of these extraordinary women. Join us in celebrating these incredible women and their journey towards achieving gender diversity and leadership on corporate boards. To view the full list of 50 Women to Watch for Boards, visit: https://lnkd.in/gSXiZmvW. The 50 Women to Watch for Boards list is sponsored by EY, Mastercard, and McKesson. #5050WOB #50WTW #WomenOnBoards #Leadership #Diversity #GenderEquality

Our CEO, Heather Marie Spilsbury, was featured in a recent Bloomberg article discussing the critical issue of how corporate women's gains are being impacted by the anti-woke DEI backlash. Her insights shed light on the challenges and underscore the importance of our mission to drive gender balance and diversity on corporate boards. Check out the full article to learn more about this pressing topic. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gi8DrnPh. #5050WomenOnBoards #GenderDiversity #Leadership #DEI #WomenInLeadership

Angela Michael is a powerhouse in the business world, known for her fearless impact and ability to lead big decisions that drive profitability growth. As a finalist in the 2023 50 Women to Watch campaign, Angela stands out for her exceptional ability to build and transform foremost brands and people, commanding the strike zone while taking big swings and risks. With a career-long track record of leading global enterprises through significant shifts, she offers thoughtful counsel, a global perspective, and strategic executive leadership that have culminated in remarkable EBITDA and margin achievements. A proven operating executive, Angela brings considerable global leadership experience to organizations aiming to thrive in the modern era. Her outstanding record of driving resiliency, growth, value creation, innovation, and change spans complex markets across six continents. Angela's universal experience includes senior strategy, operating P&L, business development, sales, product, operational excellence, governance, and cross-functional leadership roles. From leading both large and small companies to holding positions as an operational leader, business head, trained public company board director, audit committee member, and chair, Angela is a bankable asset whose teams consistently excel and deliver results. Join us in celebrating Angela Michael and her extraordinary contributions to the business world!