Breen Sullivan, founder of The Fourth Floor and Forbes Next 1000, and cofounder Kat de Haen are helping women understand how board governance works and how to secure a seat at the table. Their goal is to get 75,000 women onto for-profit boards by the end-of 2025.
It can sometimes take over three years to secure a corporate board seat. Therefore, the strategy has to be thought of as a long-term process. Many people start as advisory board members or on a non-profit. The Pay It Forward Initiative helps shorten the process.... [+]The Initiative allows all companies, large or small, male or female-led, to tap into the organization's ecosystem to diversify their boards and executive teams.
In addition to the Initiative, they also launched the Board Seat Exchange. Startups list their board seat opportunities in the platform and members can apply. Currently, there are 300 startups listing roughly 700 opportunities. As Sullivan and de Haen continue to expand the organization and expose board seat opportunities for women, they focus on the following essential steps: