Exploring the socialisation experiences of female board members

Abstract

Gender equality and corporate gender diversity have become a topical issue in the globally. Despite efforts to increase the representation of women on boards in South Africa, women remain underrepresented. The challenges that women face post appointment on boards are documented in literature. The processes, however, that newly appointed female board members undergo to gain the social knowledge and skills to successfully migrate from being outsiders to insiders are not well understood. Organisational socialisation, also known as onboarding, is a process by which newcomers in an organisation adjust to their new role. This study aims to explore the socialisation experiences of female board members to determine whether the process is conducive to ensuring that female board members, as newcomers, are better equipped to navigate the challenges and nuances of the board in a short amount of time. In order to gain deeper insights, a qualitative exploratory research method was followed. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted from 15 semi-structured interviews with female board members from various industries. Findings were consistent with the main themes identified in literature, however, given the unique structure of the board – usually consisting of employees and non-employees – several considerations were identified. A conceptual model was developed from the summary of findings for application by organisations and leaders of boards to contribute to the body of knowledge of organisational socialisation.