How Women on Boards Navigate the “Warmth-Competence” Line

Interviews with more than 40 women explore how they exert power and influence while being held to a different standard than their male peers.

by

and

Morela Hernandez

by

and

Morela Hernandez

January 23, 2023

HBR Staff/JW LTD/Getty Imaages

Summary.

Gender parity on boards is showing signs of improvement. But having a seat at the table is just the first step; exerting influence around high-stakes decisions is vital, too. To better understand how women board members do this, researchers interviewed 43 women directors at U.S. companies. They found that these women had to navigate a fine line of appearing both warm and competent to get their opinions across, and did so using six key tactics: asking, connecting, asserting, qualifying, waiting, and checking. The researchers also note that it should not simply be up to women directors to navigate bias against them, and suggest four strategies for companies looking to improve gender parity on their boards — not only in number, but in influence.

The road to gender parity on corporate boards has been a long one, but there are signs of progress. In 2022, for instance, 45% of new Fortune 500 board appointees were women and the percentage of women on these boards had risen to almost 30%.

Tiffany Trzebiatowski is an assistant professor of management at Colorado State University’s School of Business. She received her PhD in management and human resources from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research combines multiple methods to study how women navigate the challenges inherent in masculinized contexts. She is also interested in understanding individual and organizational outcomes of organizational practices and actions aimed at reducing barriers for women and minorities.
Courtney L. McCluney is an assistant professor in the ILR School at Cornell University, where she studies how marginalized employees, leaders, and entrepreneurs successfully navigate organizational contexts. Visit her personal website here.
Morela Hernandez is a professor of public policy and management at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Stephen M. Ross School of Business. She holds the Ligia Ramirez de Reynolds Collegiate Chair. She received her PhD in management from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Hernandez is an expert in the areas of leadership and diversity.

How Women on Boards Navigate the “Warmth-Competence” Line

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