HOW WOMEN LEAD ANNOUNCES THE 2023 #GETONBOARDWEEK HONOREES

This Year's Powerful Female Recipients Include Robin Washington, Blue Shield, & State Street

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- How Women Lead, a powerful community of more than 20,000 accomplished women executives working to redefine female leadership in the 21st century, today announced the winners of its fourth annual #GetOnBoardWeek Awards. The awards recognize people and companies for their impactful work creating more equity for women in the workplace. The award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, October 18th during How Women Lead's #GetOnBoardWeek.

In addition to honoring fearless leaders, #GetOnBoardWeek is a week-long hybrid summit of advocacy and action to catapult fearless women leaders onto corporate boards. Over the span of five days, #GetOnBoardWeek will feature 150+ women corporate board directors discussing cutting-edge board topics on becoming a more compelling and effective board director to over 2,000 women. Attendees will get first access to open corporate board opportunities and have the chance to meet corporate directors, venture capitalists, and private equity firms who source board candidates for venture-backed companies at in-person networking events in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, New York, Boston, and Washington DC. Grab your seat at the table and register for #GetonBoardWeek here.

"I'm so excited to honor such inspiring women during this year's #GetOnBoardWeek," said Julie Castro Abrams, Founder and CEO of How Women Lead. "This year, Robin Washington is receiving the Fearless Leader Award. Robin is an incredible leader and a woman I admire both personally and professionally. Her inspiring work as a Board Director and her dedication to moving the needle for other women on boards makes her a truly fearless leader. She embodies the How Women Lead Credo by being a fierce advocate for other women—she's a culture-changer in that regard. We are also shining a spotlight on Blue Shield and State Street this year for finding innovative ways to change the landscape for gender diversity on boards, creating systemic change, and taking bold action to change the trajectory of women on boards. Both organizations set an important example for others to follow."

The 2023 #GetOnBoardWeek award honorees are:

Fearless Leader Award:

• Robin Washington is the recipient of this year's Fearless Leader Award, which honors women who have made significant strides in promoting women on board and in executive leadership positions. Robin L. Washington is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Alphabet, Inc. (parent company of Google), Honeywell International, Inc. and Salesforce.com, where she currently serves as chair of the audit committee. She is also a member of the Board of Visitors, Graziadio School of Business and Management, Pepperdine University; the Presidents Council & Ross Business School Advisory Board, University of Michigan; and the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Board of Directors. Washington is also the co-founder of Black Women on Boards, a global nonprofit focused on increasing the representation of Black women on corporate boards. Her leadership has resulted in a significant increase in black women on corporate boards, and a national movement, including the recently released the film On Board at the Tribeca Film Festival chronicling the rise of top talent in America's boardrooms.

The Leading the Way Award

• Blue Shield of California is the recipient of this year's Leading The Way Award. Blue Shield of California has a long-standing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. It has been a part of the company's DNA for decades. With strong efforts in promoting women, 50% of board members are women and the Board Chair is a woman, which is rare in the U.S. The award will be accepted by Sandra Clarke, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, and Kristina Leslie, Chair of the Board.

The Disruptor Award

• State Street is the recipient of this year's Disruptor Award. State Street is the personification of a company invested in including women on boards. State Street is requiring 30% women directors on invested companies and will use proxy votes to vote against Nom & Gov chair if not met. They also expect all of their portfolio companies to address these areas in their diversity disclosures: board oversight, strategy, goals, metrics and board diversity. The award will be accepted by Yvette Hollingsworth Clark, Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer.

To learn more about #GetonBoardWeek, please visit https://www.howwomenlead.com/getonboard.

ABOUT HOW WOMEN LEAD:

How Women Lead is a national organization of top executive women focused on activating their individual and collective power to achieve equity for women by driving representation and opportunities across all aspects of life and career. Founded in 2011, the organization fights for change at all levels by affecting systems reform, mobilizing a movement, offering training, and providing access to opportunities. Now more than 20,000 strong, the organization has expanded the breadth and depth of its impact nationally. How Women Lead's philanthropic arm, How Women Give, provides grants and invaluable connections to women's and girls' organizations on the frontlines of today's most critical issues. And its sister organization, How Women Invest, invites women to play big and powerfully in venture, making meaningful investments and propelling high-potential, women-led companies forward at scale. For more, visit https://howwomenlead.com/.

SOURCE How Women Lead