Let’s start with the good news: women are making progress when it comes to entering the corporate boardroom. The bad news: women still represent a small percentage of corporate board members. Women now hold 17.7 percent of Fortune 1000 board seats, compared to 14.6 percent three years ago, according to a report released last week by 2020 Women On Boards.

“The needle is finally moving in a positive direction,” said Michelle Eisner, president of Women Executive Leadership and chief human resources officer with Hollander Sleep Products, in this article from the Miami Herald. “Boards are realizing women have a lot to contribute, including a new perspective on company issues.”

While progress is being made, women still have a long ways to go in their quest to reach equality at the top of corporate America. Here are some tips from Bonnie Crabtree, office managing director of executive search firm Korn Ferry in Miami, on how women can make themselves attractive candidates for corporate board seats:

  • Get past the real or perceived work/life balance concerns or lack of confidence that prevent women from going for top corporate jobs or board positions.
  • Research what boards are looking for, analyze your experience, and work to close the gaps between the two.
  • Focus on why you can do the job, rather than why you can’t. “Women worry more about travel or the time investment to be on a board or getting permission from their CEO, and they unconsciously take themselves out of the running, Crabtree says.”

Value in Having Women Board Members
Having diversity on your corporate board is not only the right thing to do, it’s a smart business decision. Research has shown that companies with diverse boards are more profitable and provide a higher return on shareholder value.

Carnival Corp., the world’s biggest cruise line, finds gender diversity on its board to be crucial at a time when at least 70 percent of household buying decisions — including travel purchases — are made by women. Two of its nine board members are women, who bring expertise in national retail sales, marketing and distribution.

Carnival President and CEO Arnold Donald calls diversity of thinking in the boardroom “a powerful advantage” and adds, “it would be foolish not to have those insights and perspectives at the highest levels of the corporation.”

Organizations such as 2020 Women on Boards and Women Executive Leadership aren’t arguing that women are better in any way, but rather that they think and react differently than men, and companies can benefit from that additional insight.