What It Takes to Join Your First Board

Harvard Business Review Women at Work podcast (Sep 16, 2025) collects the experiences of eight women across corporate, nonprofit and school boards on how they landed their first seat, built confidence in the role, and surfaced unexpected benefits. Features commentary from Ellen Zane, who runs a Harvard workshop for women interested in board work and has served as a director for nonprofits and private and public companies. For SEA mid-market boards building first-time-director benches — especially female benches — the episode is a usable primer on the entry path and on the friction of being heard in incumbent rooms.