The 2021 International Women’s Day theme, #ChooseToChallenge, is a call to act against bias and inequality, celebrate women’s achievements, and take personal responsibility for change. A challenged world is an alert world.

We each have a role in working towards gender equality. As a board member, you can reduce barriers and increase visibility for women leaders through elevating, amplifying and celebrating their voices. One of the best opportunities to practice this is through recruitment.

Here are five ways you can #ChooseToChallenge your approach to your next executive or director search:

1. Consider the scope and specificity of executive positions you “require”; the senior leadership pool (after the top spot) is deep with smart and skilled women.
2. Set a minimum of 50% women candidates on your long list; see #1.
3. Seek women candidates from operations, engineering, STEM, and other traditionally male-dominated disciplines.
4. Examine how you define “leadership presence” and ensure there is no gender bias in the assessment language e.g., assertive versus aggressive.
5. Set a minimum of 25% women candidates from underrepresented communities on your long list.

This year, challenge yourself to create a more inclusive boardroom.

Happy International Women’s Day from the WATSON team.