Chamber’s groundbreaking All Our Talent Initiative will leverage global reach of database to match local women with positions on boards and commissions

SAN DIEGO (Nov. 17, 2020) – In a new milestone for gender equity in the region, the San Diego Regional Chamber Foundation has announced a partnership with theBoardlist to facilitate the placement of women on boards and commissions through the Chamber’s All Our Talent: Women on Boards and Commission initiative, launched earlier this year.

“We know there is a big gap when it comes to gender equity on boards and commissions across the region which is why we created All Our Talent,” said Jerry Sanders, Chamber President and CEO. “We now have a strong partner in theBoardlist to help us bridge that gap by identifying women who are ready to serve and connecting them with the organizations that match their interest.”

Founded in 2015, theBoardlist has a proven track record of success in board matching and board diversity. The company, which started with a focus on gender equity in Silicon Valley boardrooms, has grown to be the largest referral network of women executives recommended for board opportunities. It has a membership of more than 14,000 candidates and a global presence.

“This strategic partnership with theBoardlist will help take the All Our Talent initiative to the next level,” said Chamber Board Chair and SDG&E Chief Executive Officer Caroline Winn. “In the five months since we launched this initiative, more than 100 exceptional San Diego women have expressed an interest in a board position. Now, we are opening them up to opportunities beyond San Diego and at the same time sharing our immense local talent with organizations around the world.”

TheBoardlist platform syncs with a candidate’s LinkedIn profile, creating a robust catalog of information on each candidate. This global database allows talented women to be easily seen and considered by companies and organizations that meet their interests. Companies can identify candidates who meet the criteria to fill seats on their boards. The All Our Talent candidates’ profiles will also be specially designated so that local San Diego organizations can view those candidates specifically.

The Chamber has also created an equity pledge which enrolls companies and organizations in the mission of improving gender equity and representation on board and commissions. Chamber member companies who take the pledge commit to putting forward 10 women from their organization to be part of the All Our Talent database on theBoardlist. Companies that have taken the pledge include SDG&E, Bank of America, NV5, and Qualcomm.

“Because of legislation passed in our state (SB826), over 665 public company board seats in California will need to be filled by women by the end of next year. We want to ensure that the talented women of San Diego have every opportunity to be considered as companies and organizations recognize the need to increase gender diversity on their boards. This data partnership, and our company equity pledge, accelerates the possibility for women in our region to be seen and considered for board service,” said Jessica N. Grounds, Co-Founder of Mine The Gap and All Our Talent lead advisor.

The All Our Talent initiative is produced with the support of Mine The Gap, a company that helps organizations identify and address gender inequities. For more information on All Our Talent and to access the landscape analysis, visit www.sdchamber.org/allourtalent. To continue to foster board-ready candidates in San Diego, the All Our Talent initiative will create board readiness training to prepare women for board service, and also training for businesses and organizations to ensure their boards are ready to receive these new members and work effectively. These programs are expected to launch in early 2021.

In June, the Chamber Foundation released a landscape analysis of the state of women on corporate, nonprofit, and government boards and commissions.

About the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce

The San Diego Regional Chamber is the hub for connections and collaboration among the regional business community and uses that clout to advocate for public policies and candidates that support economic growth and the creation of jobs for all businesses. As the largest local Chamber on the West Coast, representing approximately 2,500 businesses and an estimated 300,000 jobs, the San Diego Regional Chamber is working to make the San Diego region the best place to live and work. For more information, please visit SDChamber.org or call 619-544-1300.

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