EWNJ Honor Roll: 30 N.J. companies land coveted spot by having 3+ female board members

By
Rich Pizzutillo
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Executive Women of New Jersey repeatedly shows that public companies with women on their boards are more successful. And more profitable.

Every two years, the group honors companies which are practicing what they preach.

This week, EWNJ released its biennial A Seat at the Table Honor Roll, a list of New Jersey public companies with three or more women on their boards. This year, 26 make the list.

They will be recognized at EWNJ’s A Seat at the Table Corporate Gender Diversity Awards Breakfast on Oct. 29 at the APA Hotel Woodbridge. Companies will also be highlighted in the organization’s fourth biennial report on gender diversity in top leadership at New Jersey’s public companies.

This report, produced in collaboration with PwC, is the only one of its kind in the state and will be exclusively released at the breakfast.

Barbara Kauffman, president of EWNJ and chief operating officer of the Newark Regional Business Partnership, said the list is part of EWNJ’s efforts to ensure that women have equal access to the boardroom and high-level executive leadership.

“EWNJ is excited to present this year’s list of companies that are leading the way on women’s representation on corporate boards and in senior governance as part of our fourth report on gender diversity in New Jersey,” she said in a statement.

“The Honor Roll showcases the breadth of women’s leadership in the state and the diversity of companies they represent. By highlighting these companies, our mission is to underscore that gender diversity leads to greater corporate success by every measure. In fact, our research has found that gender diversity, and diversity in general, contributes to stronger financial performance and fewer governance-related issues such as bribery, corruption, shareholder battles, and fraud.”

Anna María Tejada, president elect of EWNJ, co-chair of A Seat at the Table and a partner at Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP, said the report is one of the pillars of EWNJ’s work.

“Our biennial report on gender diversity serves as a benchmark for our state’s progress in reaching gender parity in high-level corporate spaces,” she said.

“This Honor Roll and report highlight the tremendous impact that diversity on boards has, not only on a company’s culture, but also on its bottom line. We advocate for diversity with a specific purpose. Our goal is to ensure that women have equal opportunities for senior corporate positions. While progress is being made, there is still much more that can be done to increase equal opportunity for women ascending the corporate ladder across the state.”

The theme of this year’s breakfast, ‘Arriving, Belonging, and Succeeding,’ traces the journey of a woman’s rise through the ranks to earn a board position, the work it takes to understand the responsibilities of holding such a position, and how to thrive while trailblazing for future women leaders, said Faith Taylor, an EWNJ board member, co-chair of A Seat at the Table and a professor at the Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State University.

“There are women at each of the companies on this list who have gone through this journey and we look forward to celebrating their achievements and recognizing their company’s success,” she said. “But we also cannot ignore that there is still progress to be made. There are numerous women across the board who still need sponsors, and companies that still need women in their leadership ranks.”

Kauffman said EWNJ is the state’s leading senior-level executive women’s organization and is committed to increasing the number of women in top corporate leadership for one simple reason: “Our research shows that companies that have boards with higher numbers of women deliver better returns on equity, sales and capital,” she said.

Here is the list of those on the 2019 Honor Roll: