A look at those making their way to the boardroom.

• Position: BOARD REPORT - Excerpt

Ed. Note: Catalyst, the leadership organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for women and business, has issued a report that explores the aspirations for board service by both women and men. It is titled "High Potentials in the Pipeline: On Their Way to the Boardroom." Following is an excerpt.

Research demonstrates that there is an ample supply of "ready now" women to fill current and near-future openings on corporate boards. Yet what matters is not just ready-now talent, but also pipeline talent Given that companies around the world are "catching on" and adding more women to their boards, companies need to understand where high-potential talent is now in terms of aspirations for, preparation for, and perhaps even experience on boards of all types.

To address these questions, Catalyst surveyed its panel of high-potential employees, all of whom graduated from leading MBA programs from around the globe between 1996 and 2007. Within this group of high-potential talent, we focused further on that segment that expressed aspirations to serve on different types of boards of directors and investigated how they were preparing for board service. We also asked whether or not they had already gained board experience. While the majority had not yet fulfilled their aspiration to serve, we found widespread commitment to future board service among this highly motivated group.

, The high potentials surveyed for this report come from a group already proven to be proactive in terms of the career advancement strategies they've pursued. Most were looking to leverage their skills, knowledge, and expertise by serving on boards of directors. Analyses revealed widespread interest in board service among this group:

* More than two-thirds (69%) of high potentials reported that they are currently sitting on a board, have previously sat on a board, or aspire to board service.

* Women and men were equally likely to aspire to board service orto have already served on a board. There were no differences in high potentials' aspirations for board service across Asia, Canada, Europe, and the United States.

Public vs. private

While there were no differences in women's and men's aspirations to serve on boards, there were differences in the types of boards to which women and men aspired. Most high potentials aspiring to board service wanted to serve on boards of privately held companies, followed by nonprofit boards, and lastly, boards of publicly held companies:

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