A former Microsoft Ventures director explains how women make boardrooms more productive

Maiocco believes having more women and minorities at the table is better for business, since diverse opinions can save a company from embarrassing PR nightmares that often spring from bad assumptions made by a single governing demographic.

"Making sure the executive circles are inclusive of women and diverse backgrounds, in general, brings more opinions and better outcomes, because you are getting a look at something in a different way," he says. "We are often blind to our own biases or assumptions because we might not even realize we are making them. The right voices at the table can question and correct those unintended assumptions."

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