Money on the Table

Book excerpt: If our executive suites and boardrooms aren’t gender-balanced, we’re throwing money away! The shortage of women in boardrooms and executive suites means companies are missing out on the best solutions, products, and services—and on having the type of workplace that will attract the best workers. Gender imbalance is a serious problem in companies, and the cost is significant—but it is a problem we can solve. Melissa Greenwell challenges leaders in a no-blame, logical approach to bring more female talent into leadership positions for one simple reason: Their companies will make more money if they do. Leaders of gender-balanced companies profit from differences in the female brain responsible for questioning, debate, idea-generation, and problem solving, and those companies see increased performance and healthier strategies and tactics. Greenwell deftly demystifies gender imbalance, making it a topic we can discuss without fearing perceptions of favoritism or sexism. Money on the Table is destined to become the go-to book for CEOs and their leadership teams, boards of directors, and top HR leaders, with a clear place in talent acquisition and engagement strategies as well. Greenwell supports her thesis with business cases, interviews with top business leaders, and the brain science that explains why women and men think, communicate, and problem-solve differently. Key insights, explanations, vocabulary, and action plans complete the book along with a compelling list of ten rules that women should abide by to fulfill their part of “getting a seat at the table.”