Comparison · 13 material differences
Ellevate Network vs theBoardlist
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact — it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Networking organization
Verified September 2026 Ellevate Network
Professional women at all career stages, from early career through senior executive, plus corporate partners buying membership for their employees
Networking organization
theBoardlist
Women executives seeking private and public company board seats, and the chief executives, investors and boards searching for candidates
What the records say
- Gender — Ellevate Network: Ellevate describes itself as "the largest community of women at work" and states its mission as "creating a world where everyone belongs by helping women who challenge the status quo thrive at work"; theBoardlist: The candidate pool was for women; theBoardlist described itself as connecting "highly qualified women across industries with private and public board opportunities".
- Monthly dues — Ellevate Network: $40 a month; theBoardlist: Not publicly disclosed.
Side by side
| Ellevate Network | theBoardlist | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | 1997 (Founded in 1997 as 85 Broads by Janet Hanson, "one of the first women to be promoted to sales management at Goldman Sachs"; the name referred to Goldman Sachs's former headquarters at 85 Broad Street in New York. Rebranded as Ellevate Network in 2014.) | 2015 (Launched on 15 July 2015 as the first initiative of the #ChoosePossibility Project, founded by Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, per Wikipedia. theBoardlist's own site carried a "© 2018 theBoardlist" notice.) |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Geographic footprint | Local chapters, mostly in United States cities with a small international presence; Ellevate's chapters page listed 27 chapters in 2023, including Dubai, Madrid and Toronto | An online marketplace, originally focused on the United States technology industry and later broadened across industries |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed. Ellevate describes itself as "the largest community of women at work" but publishes no member number. | 5,000as of June 2020 |
| Chapters | 27 | No chapters; theBoardlist was a single online platform |
| Primary audience | Professional women at all career stages, from early career through senior executive, plus corporate partners buying membership for their employees | Women executives seeking private and public company board seats, and the chief executives, investors and boards searching for candidates |
| Typical member | Professional women across industries and career stages. Ellevate's tiers distinguish general members from senior executives: the Executive tier's Squads programme was described as connecting "other senior executives", while Pro-tier Squads were open more broadly. | Senior women executives nominated by chief executives, investors and other business leaders for board service. Candidates did not self-nominate: entry to the talent pool came through peer endorsement by a recommender in theBoardlist's community. |
| Qualification | ||
| Gender | Ellevate describes itself as "the largest community of women at work" and states its mission as "creating a world where everyone belongs by helping women who challenge the status quo thrive at work"Ellevate does not publish an explicit rule on whether men may join; the organisation's programming, chapters and Squads are addressed to women. Recorded as stated rather than as an exclusion.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | The candidate pool was for women; theBoardlist described itself as connecting "highly qualified women across industries with private and public board opportunities"Recommenders and searching companies were not restricted by genderverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | Yes |
| Sponsor required | No | Yes |
| Application process | Members sign up online and choose a tier; there is no application form, sponsor, interview or vetting step. New members are pointed to a live welcome session, described as Ellevate 101. Corporate partners buy access for groups of employees separately. | Women entered the candidate pool by being nominated by a recommender from theBoardlist's community of chief executives, investors and senior leaders. Nominated candidates were then encouraged to complete a profile and connect their LinkedIn account so that searching companies could find them. |
| Selectivity | Not applicable: Ellevate is an open-enrolment community with no published eligibility test or acceptance process. | Not publicly disclosed as a rate. theBoardlist reported that more than 1,400 executives had nominated more than 2,100 women by November 2017 and that it had influenced more than 100 board placements. |
| Cost | ||
| Monthly dues | $40 a monthPro tier: "$40.00/mo when paying up front", recorded from Ellevate's own pricing page as archived on 1 August 2023. Includes the Squads mastermind programme, free virtual event tickets, 50% off most in-person events and the Experts programme.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed |
| Membership term | Monthly or annual subscription; prices quoted per month when paid up front | Not documented |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Local chapter meet-ups and workshops, virtual Roundtables and Community Circles, executive events and the annual Mobilize Women summit | No published meeting programme; theBoardlist listed events but its core function was the online marketplace |
| Peer forums | Squads: small facilitated mastermind groups running for twelve weeks, with a separate Executive Squads track | No forums |
| Confidentiality | Ellevate describes Roundtables and Community Circles as "safe spaces"; no formal confidentiality policy is published | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Squads run as a twelve-week programme; other participation is optional | Not documented |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Cohort-based, Virtual, Event-focused | Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | No |
| Local chapters | Yes | No |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Partial |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Partial |
| Leadership development | Yes | Partial |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Partial | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Low |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Ellevate Network · theBoardlist