Women Do Boards

Women Do Boards is a Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) initiative designed to support women working in digital, data and technology to take their skills and experience into Scotland’s charity boardrooms.

Delivered in partnership with Third Sector Lab’s Digital Trustees programme and fully funded by SWiT, Women Do Boards gives participants the practical knowledge, confidence and support they need to explore trustee and board advisory opportunities. The programme covers the responsibilities of trustees, how boards operate and make decisions, how to identify the right board opportunity, and how to recognise and articulate the transferable skills participants can bring to governance.

Case Study
About the course

The Impact

The inaugural Women Do Boards cohort in June 2026 demonstrated significant increases in confidence and board readiness:

  • 100% of respondents said they could identify the transferable skills, experience and perspective they would bring to a board — up from 28%.

  • 100% said they knew how to assess whether a board opportunity was right for them — up from just 7%.

  • 71% felt confident applying for a board or board advisory role — up from 3%.

  • 100% expressed an interest in pursuing a board or board advisory role by the end of the programme..

Case Study

  • “I also have a firmer understanding of what a Board should and should not be doing. I’ve also taken away the idea that a Board position is a professional development opportunity and I should be aligning with a Board that will give me those opportunities, rather than just joining a Board to say that I’ve joined one.”

    -- Programme Participant

  • “More confident that I have something to offer, and more confident that there is support to make the right choices. More ready to go for it.”

    -- Programme Participant

  • “I feel a lot more empowered to ask the right questions, and where to go for more learning, and more about the types of boards there are. I feel more empowered to know my limits on a board. ”

    -- Programme Participant

  • “To vet a Board before joining, and not necessarily aligning because of the cause, but finding a cultural fit. ”

    -- Programme Participant

  • “I am a lot more confident in choosing the right charity that would work for me. Understanding how to do the due diligence on charity organisations – my knowledge was limited at the start. ”

    -- Programme Participant

  • “I feel more ready and I know I have a community of others with the same questions I ” can reach out to.New List Item

    -- Programme Participant

What Participants Came With – and Left With

Participants’ check-in responses made clear that the cohort arrived with strong motivation but significant knowledge and confidence gaps. The most commonly raised needs at the start were:

  • Understanding what a board role actually involves day-to-day

  • Knowing how to find opportunities and assess whether they are a good fit

  • Confidence that they had the skills and experience to contribute

  • Knowing how to say no to a role that is not right for them

By the end of the programme, all six measures showed improvement. The areas of greatest shift – identifying transferable skills and assessing board fit – correspond directly to the gaps participants named at the start.

Case Study