Stepping into roles traditionally reserved for men can be challenging for women. That is why one firm, The Boardroom, has been working since September 2021 to give support and guidance to the top female professionals.
Built for the executive and C-level females, The Boardroom offers them support and the training that they need to overcome challenges of the male dominated culture.
Bringing Change, One Woman at a Time.
The Boardroom is the brainchild of Diana Markaki, a top level executive who realized during her time in the corporate sector that women are grossly under- represented. She saw that despite having skills and the talent, many women were unable to claim a seat at the top because of their gender.
What she witnessed turned out to be a passion and gave way to the birth of The Boardroom, a firm dedicated towards encouraging and bringing gender diversity at the executive level.
This is managed by bringing together all things that female executives may need to lead and become a board member in their respective organization. The Boardroom achieves this by becoming a meeting point and focal position for top executives, both men and women, who work towards improving gender diversity.
However, it is not all about just opening up the world so that women can be a part of the top management and strategic decision process. The Boardroom also offers all the technical, emotional and skill enhancement support that women need to retain their position.
The result is an organization that is a network of top professional females who can rely on each other to help them bring about a change that is long overdue.
The Boardroom Approach
Not intending to be just another female empowerment move or club, the Boardroom uses a holistic approach that prepares and supports women for their C-level experience.
All members have access to different workshops that are designed to sharpen their skills as executives. The workshops are conducted by industry leaders, both men and women. The training includes real-life simulations of board meetings so that women can practice in situations that are not close, but just like the real thing.
Members of The Boardroom are assigned groups, consisting of 8 to 10 women. The Inner Circle, as each group is called, comprises women who are working at the same level in their firms, but in different industries and sectors. This helps them to collate their experiences and share knowledge and tips to better improve themselves through peer-to-peer learning.
The Boardroom offers its members the chance to network with like minded professionals across the globe, forging connections that can run deep and help them in the long run. The networking is boosted by The Boardroom with a series of gatherings where CEOs and corporate directors from different firms come as speakers, who not only give their insights into the corporate culture and how to succeed as a woman, but also offer exclusive board level opportunities.
Like all of the activities, the networking also consists of men who support the cause of The Boardroom and would like to see women succeed. The organization has opened a new location in London, and furthermore, it has plans to continue expanding throughout Europe in 2023.
An Overview Of The Gender Diversity Market In 2023
As we move towards a more inclusive and diverse world, many companies have started investing heavily in gender diversity.
Despite the fact that women make up over half of the world’s population, they are still underrepresented in the workforce. This is especially true when it comes to leadership positions. While there has been some progress made in recent years, the gender gap is still a very real issue.
This lack of representation can have a number of negative consequences. For one, it limits the pool of talent that companies have to choose from. It also perpetuates the cycle of women being paid less than their male counterparts and being promoted less often.
Given the importance of gender diversity, one can say that Diana Markaki is in the right direction with The Boardroom and it’s no surprise that more and more companies are making an effort to invest in this market. In fact, the global market size for investments in gender diversity is expected to grow to $8 billion by 2025.
There are a number of reasons why companies are willing to invest in gender diversity. For one, it’s simply good business sense. A diverse workforce leads to better decision-making and improved company performance. Additionally, investing in gender diversity can help companies attract and retain top talent. Finally, there is a growing body of evidence that shows that companies with diverse workplaces are more innovative.
So what does this mean for investors? Gender diversity is an important trend to watch out for because it’s not only good for society, but also good for business. Companies that are investing in gender diversity now will likely see financial rewards now and in years to come.
About Diana Markaki
Diana Markaki is the woman behind The Boardroom. A professional lawyer and an LLM degree in international law from Athens Law School with an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School, she founded The Boardroom to give other women the same access to the corporate world that she has.
A positive role model, Markaki is not just a corporate success, but is in leadership positions in several firms and organizations. She is a board member at 5G Ventures, a VC that invests in the promotion and expansion of 5G technology.
She is also a partner at Venero Capital, another VC firm and even a board member at Ellaktor Group.
With a career spanning different organizations, including the airline industry, Markaki has been able to experience and gain knowledge of the skills needed to make it to the top and with The Boardroom, an organization she built, she shares that knowledge with countless women across the world.
With new offices and more planned, she is arming more and more women to become leaders and executives.
Conclusion
The global innovations in gender diversity is growing rapidly and this trend will likely continue beyond 2023. Businesses are increasingly recognizing the value of creating a workforce that reflects the diversity of society as a whole, both to increase profits and promote equity among their employees. With platforms like The Boardroom increasing the awareness of gender inequalities around the world, investments in gender diversity will even become a more important tool for businesses to drive meaningful change within their organizations. We can expect that by the end of 2023, the size of this sector will be significantly larger than it is today.
