Empowering Women Leaders Through Development and Mentorship for International Board Opportunities

Applications for 2025 now open
About US

Global Women on Boards

The 6-month programme provides targeted development and mentorship to help women understand the skills required and gain practical insights in preparing and equipping them for their board journey. Each participant is assigned to a mentor, with board experience, who will share experience, and provide guidance and advice to support the mentee to successfully navigate the board environment.

By increasing the diversity of corporate leadership through greater representation of women on boards, companies can benefit from a wider range of perspectives, experiences, and skills, leading to better decision-making and improved business outcomes. The journey culminates in Board Simulations, allowing delegates to apply their knowledge and learning, and at the same time receive feedback from qualified observers.

Phase 1 & 2 of the 2025 programme will be delivered virtually. Phase 3, Graduation & Board Simulations, will be conducted in-person to celebrate the delegates’ achievements and provide them the opportunity to network with facilitators, mentors, and invited guests.

The Global Women on Boards (GWOB) programme is designed to equip new, aspiring, and existing women directors with the competencies and knowledge required to participate effectively on boards. Being a women-only programme, it provides a safe platform for women to openly share experiences, ask questions and learn in a closed conducive environment.

COHORTS
NUMBER OF WOMEN
COUNTRIES

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

PROGRAMME PARTNERS

PARTNER STATEMENTS

LeadWomen is a pioneering organisation advocating for greater women representation on boards, and has successfully placed numerous women on boards in Malaysia since its inception.

Their vast experience and expertise in providing training to women at the board level have earned them a reputation as a leading organisation in this field. Through their training and development programmes, LeadWomen has helped many women leaders to become board-ready directors, and they continue to be at the forefront of the push for greater diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.

LEAD WOMEN
MALAYSIA

The Women on Boards Network (WOBN) Kenya is a progressive initiative aimed at promoting and encouraging women to take up board leadership positions. With the objective of increasing the number of women in boardrooms, it facilitates those already sitting on boards to effectively carry out their roles and responsibilities, while upskilling and preparing women in senior leadership roles who are not yet sitting on any boards.

WOBN Kenya’s vision is to promote diversity on boards by ensuring a pool of board-ready women while also providing a dedicated platform for mentoring, coaching, and training, where women can network and share their experiences.

WOMEN ON BOARDS NETWORK
KENYA

The Columbia Global Centers promote and facilitate the collaborative and impactful engagement of the University’s faculty, students, and alumni with the world, to enhance understanding, address global challenges, and advance knowledge and its exchange. The Global Centers, as envisioned by President Lee C. Bollinger, were founded with the objective of connecting the local with the global, to create opportunities for shared learning and to deepen the nature of global dialogue.

The nine Global Centers are located in Amman, Beijing, Istanbul, Mumbai, Nairobi, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, and Tunis.

COLUMBIA GLOBAL CENTRES
NAIROBI AND PARIS

OUR GALLERY

MOre gallery

HEAR FROM OUR GWOB ALUMNI

Great learnings from all members and tutors and having a mentor guide me throughout the programme gave me significant learnings in building my competence from a board level perspective
#Driving the Shift
Anuradha KatyalGlobal Head of Systems & Processes, Scania CV AB GWOB Alumna
Come ready to learn, attend all sessions, make the global connections through friendships and the international trip. The Board Simulation helped me appreciate the amount of preparation that goes into allowing a board member to actively participate at the board. The visit to The Authorité des Marchés Financiers in Paris showed an appreciation on how global institutional diversity helps to reduce risk exposure of International firms. Excellent speakers on sustainability on boards showed that firms also can no longer continue to think about their bottom line only but Environmental, Social and Governance goals become critical.
Beatrice MatiriCEO, GVC Growth Concepts GWOB Alumna
The GWOB programme provided me the opportunity to refresh on the governace principles and concepts, reflect on what my value would and legacy would be and got to interact and network with well-establised leaders in Kenya and Malaysia.
Beverley Simiyu NuthuLeadership Coach & Traine, B&G Consultants Ltd GWOB Alumna
I’ve attended the 2018 Global Women on Boards (GWOB) program and found it most useful. I was also happy to be a mentor this year [2021] on GWOB.
Dr. Kalanithi NesaretnamIndependent Non-Executive Director, IOI Corporation Berhad GWOB Alumna & Mentor
Having served on several boards and board committees, sharpening my acumen in the areas of board dynamics, emotional intelligence and understanding financial statements has been a deeply held desire. The GWOB program helped to meet this desire through the tailored training delivered by experienced faculty and the lively and enriching contributions of fellow students. I am excited to apply this learning as I continue to serve humanity in different leadership roles.
Njeri Maina AfandaDirector, Business Development – Africa, Planet Labs
This programme has helped me understand the role of the board in terms of providing strategy and oversight. The Board Simulation has given me the space to know how a board meeting is run. Additionally, the networking that this programme offers is impactful in my board journey. I encourage future delegates to fully participate in the sessions and know that it is a journey, not a destination.

Tengku Fara was appointed to the board of Cropmate Berhad in 2023
Tengku Faradiza Tengku BaharuddinDirector, Head of Global Banking HSBC Amanah (M) Bhd
GWOB is a great starter to get an overview of the matters that concern, or should concern, directors.
Serving for 8 years on the board of trustees of a long-established science-based conservation organisation prepared me somewhat for my new board membership, but the GWOB offers me a chance to delve further into the different complexities of commercial organisations and listed companies.
I am fortunate that the GWOB plugs me into a network of other women directors to role model. I really appreciated the safe space the GWOB offers for us to ask the most basic questions, or on the other hand, to raise sophisticated and nuanced issues, of the panel of lecturers and practitioners.
One of the key learnings of the GWOB is that a director must always be curious and engaged, and invest in continuous learning and development.

Suhana was recently appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of UDA Holdings Bhd
Suhana SelamatExecutive Director, Khazanah Nasional Berhad
Signing up for the GWOB programme has been a great decision and a very insightful learning experience for me. The overall program has helped me acquire a wider perspective about the depth and knowledge to participate effectively on the various Boards I am a part of.  The mentorship programme allowed me to self-reflect and enhance some of the key skills essential to be a Director on Boards such as critical-thinking and complex problem solving, strategic planning and improving interpersonal communication and coordination. These skills will definitely be of great value in my Leadership roles. I would highly recommend this course to women leaders for newer perspectives and enhancing their skills as Women on Boards.
Dr Minnie BodhanwalaCEO, Wadia Hospitals

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