Women on Boards: What Boardio's Advisor Data Shows and How to Widen Your Candidate Pool

Short answer: among Boardio advisors who reported their gender, about 1 in 5 are women (666 of 3,267, or 20.4%). That is close to the global picture: Deloitte's 2024 Women in the Boardroom report found that women hold 23.3% of board seats worldwide. The gap is not a lack of qualified women. It mostly comes from how searches are briefed and where companies look, and both can be changed.

Important caveat: figures cover advisors who chose to report their gender in their profile (an optional field), not the whole 12,000+ network. 74.1% of advisor profiles leave it blank. Gender was never inferred from names. See the methodology section for details.

Why women on boards matter for growing companies

For a growth company, a board or advisory board is a tool for better decisions. A group of people with the same background tends to see the same opportunities and miss the same risks. Mixing genders, nationalities and career paths widens the range of experience at the table.

This matters most when a company expands abroad. A new market brings new customers, partners, regulators and investors, and the board's job is to test the plan against that reality. Advisors who bring different networks and perspectives make it easier to spot what does not translate from the home market. Read more about how advisors support global expansion.

There is also a regulatory push in Europe. Under Directive (EU) 2022/2381, listed companies in EU member states should reach, by 30 June 2026, either 40% of non-executive director positions or 33% of all director positions held by the underrepresented sex. Most startups and scaleups are not listed, but their investors, acquirers and enterprise customers increasingly are, and expectations travel.

What Boardio's advisor data shows

Boardio connects growth companies with 12,000+ advisors in 120 countries, with 1,000+ searches done. Here is what the gender data looks like for the advisors who reported it.

Overall

For context, Deloitte's 2024 report puts women at 23.3% of board seats globally, and at just 8.4% of board chairs (Deloitte Global, 2024). The two data sets measure different things, so treat the comparison as a rough reference rather than a like-for-like match.

One signal stands out: women make up 20.4% of advisors who reported gender but 17.4% of applicants to searches who did. Fewer women apply than are in the pool. That is something companies can influence through how they write and share their search.

By country

Finland stands out. Among Finnish advisors who reported their gender, 23.4% are women (n=1,487). That is higher than the overall 20.4% and ahead of the United States (19.5%), Sweden (18.9%), Germany (18.5%) and the United Kingdom (12.5%). As with all figures here, this covers advisors who chose to report their gender, not the whole network.

Samples for smaller countries are not shown because they are too small to read much into. Even in the larger groups, a few hundred advisors is a modest sample, so small differences between countries should not be overinterpreted.

By verified board position

An advisor can hold several positions. Women are slightly less represented among advisors with verified board positions than among those without one. If you only look for people who already sit on boards, you shrink the pool of women candidates. Our guide on the chairman position covers what a chair does and how chairs are chosen.

By industry

The spread is wide. In marketing, retail and consumer goods, roughly 3 in 10 advisors who reported gender are women. In software, it is fewer than 1 in 10. A tech company that only searches within its own industry will see a much narrower pool than one that also looks for commercial, go-to-market or customer experience.

How to widen the candidate pool for your board or advisory board

1. Write the brief around outcomes, not titles. "Has opened retail distribution in Germany" finds more strong candidates than "former CEO of a listed company". Our guide on writing an advisor brief shows how.
2. Say that you welcome diverse candidates. State it in the brief. Applicant data suggests fewer women apply than are in the pool, so an explicit invitation matters.
3. Do not require previous board experience by default. Many excellent first time board members come from operating roles. See how people become board members.
4. Look beyond your own industry. Adjacent sectors such as consumer, retail and marketing have a higher share of women advisors and bring useful commercial experience.
5. Look beyond your own country. When you expand abroad, an advisor from the target market adds local knowledge and widens the pool at the same time.
6. Ask for a balanced shortlist. Agree up front that the shortlist should include women candidates, and review it before interviews start.
7. Use consistent interview questions. Compare candidates against the same criteria to reduce the pull toward people who resemble the current board.
8. Compensate the role properly. Advisor and board roles are compensated. Clear, fair terms attract experienced candidates who have many demands on their time.

For specific board roles, see our guides on independent directors for startups and non-executive director roles in the UK.

Methodology

• Source: Boardio's own advisor database, read-only aggregate query, data date 13 October 2026 (UTC). No individual records or names were used or published.
• Gender field: optional and self-reported in the advisor profile.
• Coverage: 74.1% of advisor profiles have the gender field blank. All percentages are the female share of advisors who reported their gender, not of the full 12,000+ network.
• No inference: gender was never inferred from names or photos.
• Limitations: deleted and duplicate accounts could not be excluded. Small groups (for example countries with fewer than about 90 reported advisors) are not shown. Shortlisting and selection outcomes are not reported because too few records include gender to give a valid figure.
• External figures: Deloitte Global, Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective, 8th edition (2024), and Directive (EU) 2022/2381.

Find diverse advisors and board members with Boardio Turnkey

With Boardio Turnkey:

1. You share a brief describing your goals, markets and the experience you need, including that you want a diverse shortlist.
2. Boardio runs the search across 12,000+ advisors in 120 countries and brings you a shortlist.
3. You interview candidates and agree terms directly with the advisor or board member you choose.
4. You pay a one-time success fee from €1,900 + VAT only if you start working with a candidate Boardio found. No retainer.

Start a Turnkey search.

FAQ

What percentage of board members are women?

Deloitte's 2024 Women in the Boardroom report found that women hold 23.3% of board seats globally and chair 8.4% of boards. Among Boardio advisors who reported their gender, 20.4% are women.

Does Boardio's data cover all of its advisors?

No. Gender is an optional profile field, and 74.1% of advisors leave it blank. The figures describe advisors who reported their gender, not the whole network.

How can a company find more women candidates for its board?

Write the brief around outcomes rather than titles, state that diverse candidates are welcome, avoid requiring previous board experience by default, search beyond your own industry and country, and ask for a balanced shortlist.

Are advisor and board roles on Boardio paid?

Yes. Advisor and board roles found through Boardio searches are compensated, typically with a fee, equity or a mix agreed between the company and the advisor.

What does the EU directive on women on boards require?

Directive (EU) 2022/2381 says listed companies in EU member states should reach, by 30 June 2026, either 40% of non-executive director positions or 33% of all director positions held by the underrepresented sex.