Told a female friend of mine that I had broadened my online interests and recently been on a golf architecture discussion group. She is a golfer and instantly asks, "are there any women on there?" I said well I'm not sure, but she says that she doesn't know of any females who are course designers other than seeing Annika Sorenstam's name a couple of places. I assume there are women on GCA and by extension the design industry.
Anyone have any information on women in the design industry and where it is going? I would think it is a very small minority.
In my MBA coursework we talked often about diversity in the board room to make good decisions and not just one woman, the ideal number is actually 3 or more. There are numerous articles concerning this topic, I will just post one from the Harvard Business Review:
Reaping the value of these contributions, though, depends on having the right number of women. Solo women on boards often feel isolated and marginalized. When they are effective, it’s not because of but in spite of being the only woman. Adding a second woman to a board helps reduce the sense of isolation, but it doesn’t always cause change and may create its own difficulties. Two women may be perceived as a separate group and may find they have to be careful not to appear to be conspiring. What’s more, they may not be distinguished from each other. One woman we spoke to explained, “I raised a question at a board meeting that caused the board to take some important action. Later on, the chairman thanked the other woman on the board for raising the question. No one said anything to correct him.”
A clear shift occurs when boards have three or more women. At that critical mass, our research shows, women tend to be regarded by other board members not as “female directors” but simply as directors, and they don’t report being isolated or ignored. Three women or more can also change the dynamic on an average-size board. As one woman director said, “The competition to get your voice heard is over. It’s a supportive dynamic—less combative, more collaborative. You can see the guys decompress from their normal very aggressive style.”