Project Reach is a TEMPO Madison initiative to increase the number of women serving on business boards.

The project provides resources for members aspiring to serve on business boards and for those responsible for filling board positions.

• Project Reach provides training, professional development, and facilitated connections to educate and position members for business board service.
• Project Reach hosts a Database of Board Candidates where those responsible for filling board positions can search for and find qualified, diverse women candidates for Board and Advisory Board roles.

TEMPO Madison

TEMPO Madison was founded in 1981 by a group of visionary women who understood that leading our community and succeeding professionally require both knowledge and encouragement. TEMPO Madison’s mission is to connect and engage influential women of diverse backgrounds and experience. In so doing the group strives to advance the professional and personal goals of TEMPO members and to come together as leaders to effect positive change in our community.

Board diversity is good for business and communities

Research* demonstrates that businesses and society benefit from diversity in the boardroom. For example:

• Fortune 500 businesses with higher percentages of women directors out-perform competitors in key areas, including return on equity, return on invested capital, return on sales, and share price performance.
• Gender equity in the boardroom attracts top female talent.
• The presence of women on boards is strongly linked to business reputation.
• Gender-diverse boards are linked to more effective risk-management, increased board engagement, and fewer financial reporting errors.
• Communities are better served by businesses whose boards mirror customer and client bases – and these businesses out-perform their competitors.

Studies have shown that it takes a minimum of three women on a board to maximize the positive impact, yet women and minority groups remain largely underrepresented on business boards nationally. Project Reach intends to positively impact this dynamic by ensuring that Madison and Dane County businesses are aware of TEMPO Madison as a great resource for recruiting board members.

Database of Board Candidates

Project Reach’s Database offers Board Brief and Board Bio documents on a broad pool of qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. TEMPO Madison members are experienced leaders with a minimum of ten years recent experience in an executive or senior leadership role.

To access Project Reach’s Database of Board Candidates, click here.

For more information, contact Co-chairs Shana Lewis or Patti Epstein, or email tempomadison@tempomadison.org.