Why All Boards Need Young Directors

“The whole idea of the project saying that young women are important to have on boards and our opinion is important. We’re not just doing this for you to show up and be a warm body in a seat - we want you to participate because you can actually impact [this space] and make things better. I internalized that my ideas are important and I can add value to anything we are working on. That was the biggest and longest lasting impact.” – Young Director

Events over the past year have brought a number of realities to the forefront of our governance institutions. 

Between the varied responses to COVID-19, the realities highlighted by #BlackLivesMatter, and daily threats to a healthy democracy, it’s clear there must be greater effort to build equity into all spaces of power. The young women and non-binary youth selected to be Young Directors in the Girls on Boards program are doing just that – contributing to boardrooms that are not only more diverse but more representative of the communities they live in. 

Since we launched the project four years ago, Girls on Boards has: trained 99 Young Directors,  partnered with 74 non-profit boards, enlisted 58 volunteer coaches, and hosted 3 Girls on Boards Forums held in Toronto. 

With the input of our community members, the project has gone deeper to unpack how Young Directors can bring greater equity on boards. In partnership with alumnae, we have developed a “Navigating Microaggressions and Tokenism” workshop, a toolkit, and, beginning this year, participating boards will complete our Equity on Board training. 

Girls on Boards is training a new generation of board directors who would otherwise be left out of decision-making organizations. Research has often pointed to the underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and Women of Colour (“BIWOC”) in leadership positions and disproportionately overrepresented on the frontlines. Emerging BIWOC leaders are further discouraged from entering leadership spaces based on their age and assumed lack of experience. 

“[Girls on Boards], has put an exclamation point on the fact that youth are valuable assets on a board; it is an element of diversity that is needed.” – Board Director

At a time where systems and decision-making processes are being reimagined, young women and non-binary youth play a critical role at these tables. As members of the communities they live in, future Chairs and Executive Directors of Canadian organizations, and qualified leaders in and of themselves, young women and non-binary leaders have the right to be included in the decisions that will ultimately affect their future.

By: Atifa, Hasham, Project Coordinator, Girls on Boards