The study released Monday showed that about three quarters of female directors were serving on only one board, a finding that Gero said belies the myth that there is only a small group of qualified women who must be shared among several companies.

The WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation this year asked more than 4,000 board members why the panels are so male-dominated, and 30 percent of men cited a “lack of qualified female candidates,” something with which only 7 percent of female respondents concurred.

Progress Signs

It’s the bigger companies that are increasingly willing to hire female directors. Among the more than 1,800 businesses monitored by the group, 334 still have no women in those roles, and that group is dominated by smaller companies, Gero said.

Still, the advocacy group said it sees signs of progress. It runs a campaign about once a month to target a company without female directors, but it’s getting harder to find a scapegoat that would be recognized by the general public, Gero said.

“There are very few companies that hold the position ‘no women, no way,’” she said. “It’s more that they really, honestly say that they don’t know where to find them, or they just don’t want to take the time, or the search is too expensive.”

First « 1 2 » Next