About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

22 Deakin L. Rev. 85 (2017)
Gender Diversity as the Antidote to Groupthink on Corporate Boards

handle is hein.journals/deakin22 and id is 85 raw text is: GENDER DIVERSITY AS THE ANTIDOTE TO 'GROUPTHINK' ON CORPORATE BOARDS AKSHAYA KAMALNATH* Gender diversity on corporate boards has become a point of emphasis, to the exclusion of all other forms of diversity. This paper analyses whether board gender diversity might help boards overcome groupthink (i.e. the failure of board members to consider alternatives to the dominant view when making decisions). This is a significant question because the board is reponsible for governance of the company and groupthink is often cited as a hurdle to effectively performing this role. Thus, the paper first examines the role of the board, board decision-making processes and the problem of groupthink, and subsequently, the potential of gender diversity to overcome groupthink. It concludes that gender diversity on corporate boards might help overcome groupthink so long as the women directors are also independent and bear 'outsider' status. However, other forms of diversity like race, education, tenure, professional background etcetera might offer the same benefits and thus should not be overlooked. I INTRODUCTION Board gender diversity has become a popular idea since the global financial crisis. The main argument is that company boards, which are mostly homogenous, need to be more diverse to ensure that boards make better decisions. As former board member of Citigroup, Sallie Krawcheck, recently said, 'had we had more diversity of thought, perspective, education, gender, colour, the crisis would have been less severe'. The emphasis on gender diversity has narrowed the focus to ensuring that there is a mix of men and women on company boards. Many countries, including Australia, have introduced regulations in this regard. These regulations have mostly been justified with a mix of different policy rationales. The two dominant rationales are that gender diversity furthers gender equality, and that Lecturer, Deakin Law School, Melbourne. Aimee Picchi, 'Wall Street's Sallie Krawcheck has a Message about Diversity' CBS News (online), 30 January 2017 <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wall-street-sallie-krawcheck-lack- of-diversity-fueled-crisis/>.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most