Mainstreaming women in CEO & Chair roles on British Boards

Deliberately moving away from the deficit argument of inadequate mainstreaming of women in leadership roles, this study examines the phenomenon from the role theory perspective. With elite interviews of 27 female board directors, this paper explores why key board roles – the CEO and the Chair, which wield significant structural power and influence- remain elusive for female leaders in the UK. With thematic data analysis, the paper reports that female leaders today seek a more balanced work-life and may perceive the CEO role as less attractive due to assumptions about the role's requirements. The poor mainstreaming of women in Chair roles relates to the Chair role being less visible in UK corporate governance. The paper makes several evidence-based suggestions rooted in practice for mainstreaming women in the CEO and Chair roles which can help organisations in optimising the advantages of the business case of gender diversity. The paper contributes three ways to role
theory/literature on gender diversity on boards, corporate praxis and regulatory policy on mainstreaming women into key board roles, and a contemporary narrative in the UK and beyond.