Women account for more than 20 percent of Rotary’s global membership, but they are underrepresented in leadership positions throughout the organization. Diverse leadership correlates with high performance, so let’s explore strategies to break the “glass ceiling” in our clubs, districts, and zones. Together, we can Be the Inspiration around the globe.

1. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
Strategies for Advancing Women in Rotary Leadership
Beth Keck and Dr. Todd Jenkins | June 3-4, 2019

2. FacilitatorsBeth Keck
Rotary Club of Bentonville USA
‘Bowtie’ Todd Jenkins, PH.D
Rotary Club of Fayetteville USA

3. • Diverse Leadership = High Performance
• Identify Barriers
• Take Action
OBJECTIVES

4. OVERVIEW
● Status of Women in Rotary Leadership - 10 minutes
● Diversity & Inclusion Best Practices - 10 minutes
● Small Group Discussion - 45 minutes
● Insights and Commitments - 20 minutes
● Call to Action - 5 minutes

5. Status of Women
in Rotary Leadership
Beth Keck, The Rotary Club of Bentonville, AR USA

6. DISTRIBUTION OF WOMEN ROTARIANS
AROUND THE WORLD
Women Rotarians 23% of Global Membership
Africa/ME
32%
Aus/NZ/PI
28%
Central
SE Asia
28%
Korea
22%
US/CAN/
Caribbean
32%
LatAm
29%
RIBI
18% Europe
18%
India
12%
Japan
7%

7. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
OUR PIPELINE HAS LEAKS AND
BLOCKAGES. . .
Rotarians Presidents
Percent
women
District
Governors
Regional
Coordinator
s
RI Director RI President
23 25 21 20 0 0
Of 191 directors in past 30 years, 11 women – 5.7%
Women in Rotary leadership as of July 1, 2018

8. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
. . .RESULTING IN A LACK OF
GENDER AND AGE DIVERSITY
2018-19
Rotary
Board of
Directors

9. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY...
‘A quick look at the photos of the RI directors and
trustees shows...a sea of male faces... It is also
disheartening to see that U.S. leadership appears to be
100 percent white...’
Adrienne Simmons, Ashland Oregon, USA
The Rotarian, November 2018

10. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
OUR LEADERSHIP COMPOSITION A KEY
STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY. . .
. . .we’re
volunteers

11. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
● Stronger organizational health
● Broader leadership capabilities
● Improved decision-making at the top
● Increased diversity of thought
● Wider talent pool
● Better match with potential customers / members
RESEARCH: 3+ WOMEN AT THE TOP
CORRELATES WITH . . .
Diversity
Core
Rotary
Value
McKinsey WSJ Women In Econ 2012 research

12. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
ONLY 1 WOMAN ON NOMINATING COMMITTEE
FOR RI PRESIDENT. . .
The members of the Nominating Committee for the 2020-21 President of Rotary
International are Kazuhiko Ozawa, Rotary Club of Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan; Manoj D.
Desai, Rotary Club of Baroda Metro, Gujarat, India; Shekhar Mehta, Rotary Club of Calcutta-
Mahanagar, West Bengal, India; John G. Thorne, Rotary Club of North Hobart, Tasmania,
Australia; Guiller E. Tumangan, Rotary Club of Makati West, Makati City, Philippines; Juin Park,
Rotary Club of Suncheon, Jeonranam, Korea; Elio Cerini, Rotary Club of Milano Duomo, Italy;
Gideon M. Peiper, Rotary Club of Ramat Hasharon, Israel; Per Høyen, Rotary Club of Aarup,
Denmark; Paul Knijff, Rotary Club of Weesp (Vechtstreek-Noord), Netherlands; Sam Okudzeto,
Rotary Club of Accra, Ghana; José Ubiracy Silva, Rotary Club of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil;
Bradford R. Howard, Rotary Club of Oakland Uptown, California, USA; Michael D. McCullough,
Rotary Club of Trenton, Michigan, USA; Karen K. Wentz, Rotary Club of Maryville,
Tennessee, USA; Michael K. McGovern, Rotary Club of South Portland-Cape Elizabeth,
Maine, USA; and John C. Smarge, Rotary Club of Naples, Florida, USA.
Source: https://www.rotary.org/en/holger-knaack-selected-be-2020-21-
rotary-international-president

13. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
WE NEED TO ADDRESS BARRIERS
BLOCKING THE WAY . . .
McKinsey WSJ Women In Econ 2012 research
Policies &
Practices
Personal
Choices
Institutional
mindsets
Individual
mindsets

14. ‘Perhaps it is Rotary itself that
needs to change its mindset and
its culture…’
Thomas Swan, Ventura, California, USA
The Rotarian, November 2018
Mindsets are the hardest
to change. . . Behaviors
Identity,
Needs & Fears
Thoughts & Feelings
Beliefs &
Values
Behaviors
Source: McKinsey

15. Diversity and Inclusion
Best Practices
Dr. Todd Jenkins, The Rotary Club of Fayetteville, AR USA

16. 2018 Council on Resolutions
November 2018
Resolution 18R-30: To request the RI Board to consider
promoting women in Rotary
Adopted – YES 322 No 172
Resolution 18R-31: To request the RI Board to consider
increasing opportunities for women, young leaders, and
people of different races and ethnicities to serve in district,
zone and RI leadership positions
Adopted – YES 304 No 192

17. ROTARY DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
POSITION STATEMENT RI Board Jan 2019
ROTARY DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION POICY STATEMENT
As a global network that strives to build a world where people unite and take
action to create lasting change, Rotary values diversity and celebrates the
contributions of people of all backgrounds, regardless of their age, ethnicity,
race, color, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual
orientation, and gender identity.
Rotary will cultivate a
DIVERSE, EQUITABLE, AND INCLUSIVE CULTURE
in which people from underrepresented groups have greater opportunity
to participate as members and leaders.

18. GOAL
WOMEN IN ROTARY LEADERSHIP
The RI Board of Directors
sets a goal for the number of women
in Rotary and Rotary leadership positions
to be 30 percent by June 2023

19. COMPOSITION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS CHANGING
2019-21 Board of
Director Nominees
Johrita Solari
Zone 26, Anaheim,
California, USA
Stephanie A. Urchick
Zone 29, Canonsburg
Houston Southpointe,
Pennsylvania, USA
2020-22 Board of
Director Nominees
Virpi Honkala
Zone 17B, Raahe, Finland
Aikaterini Kotsali-Papadimitriou
Zone 21B, Pendeli, Greece
Susan C. Howe
Zone 25B, Space Center
(Houston) Texas, USA
Valarie K. Wafer
Zone 28, Collingwood & S. Georgian Bay
Ontario, Canada

20. DIVERSITY

21. INCLUSION

22. EQUITY

23. D + I + E
D = Party Invitation
I = Dancing the Way
You Like to Dance
E = Asking Which Song
You’d Like Played

24. Rotary
Resources

25. Take ActionIdentify and Address Barriers (45 min)

26. NOTECARDS
MY ACTIONS
ACTIONS FOR
ROTARY LEADERS
● Club
● District
● International
3 ROUNDS

27. % women club members
# women club presidents in recent years
# women in line to be club president
# women on club board
Composition of selection committees
25% of clubs have women presidents
WOMEN IN CLUB LEADERSHIP
15 MINUTES
Policies &
Practices
Personal
Choices
Institutional
mindsets
Individual
mindsets
What policies & practices prevent women from being club leaders?
What mindsets create barriers for women?
ACTIONS TO INCREASE WOMEN IN CLUB LEADERSHIP
Current
status

28. WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY...
‘Our district is tied with one other district. . .for
having the most female district governors. . .
‘I’ll be the 9th. . . . Recently we had 5 females in a
row.
‘I saw there were women in leadership and
thought I can do that and I want to do that.
It made the path much easier for me to follow.’
Karen DeMatteo, DGE, District 7410
International Assembly, January 2019

29. # women District Governors
# women in line to be DG
Composition of DG selection committee
Of 16,059 DGs in past 30 years, 1,484 women – 9.2%
WOMEN DISTRCT GOVERNORS
15 MINUTES
Policies &
Practices
Personal
Choices
Institutional
mindsets
Individual
mindsets
What policies & practices prevent women from being DGs?
What mindsets create barriers for women?
ACTIONS TO INCREASE WOMEN DISTRICT GOVERNORS
Current
status

30. A PAGE FOR BIG BOLDBULLET ITEMS
WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY...
‘Currently it takes an immense amount of time to acquire all
the qualifications required to be RI president...
...if I just did all the required things…the earliest I could be
considered for RI president is when I’m in my late 50s.
Our future Board will look pretty much as it does today.’
Sandhya Maini, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
The Rotarian, November 2018

31. # women Directors from your Zone
# women in line to be Director
Composition of selection committees
Of 191 directors in past 30 years, 11 women – 5.7%
WOMEN INTERNATIONAL
LEADERS 10 MINUTES
Policies &
Practices
Personal
Choices
Institutional
mindsets
Individual
mindsets
What policies & practices prevent women from top Rotary positions?
What mindsets create barriers for women?
ACTIONS TO INCREASE WOMEN IN
INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Current
status

32. ‘We need to take steps now. It is certainly not
good enough to say that we have had women as
vice presidents of RI. Those are appointed
positions.’
Roger Hayward, Alliston, Ontario, Canada
The Rotarian, November 2018
WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY...

33. Take ActionInsights and Commitments (20 min)

34. NOTECARDS
MY ACTIONS
ACTIONS FOR
ROTARY LEADERS

35. Together, we see a world where people unite
and take action to create lasting change –
across the globe, in our communities, and in
ourselves.
Rotary Vision Statement

36. THANK YOU!
Beth Keck, The Rotary Club of Bentonville, AR, USA
bethkeck719@gmail.com
Dr. Todd Jenkins, The Rotary Club of Fayetteville, AR, USA
RotarianTodd@gmail.com
Slides available at www.SlideShare.net/Rotary_International
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