The idea that anybody can become famous has been fuelled by crowd-sourced talent shows like Britain’s Got Talent, by social media and the internet which enable mass broadcast, and by the globalisation of the media industry which enables real-time media broadcast.

This past weekend, the Sunday Observer ran a full feature on how women are still disproportionately represented in the Board room. While I appreciate the effort on behalf of women, it bothers me when the same old methods of showcasing this underrepresentation are employed. I dislike ineffectiveness.

Outsiders and those who would take on the status quo have always been in favour of "the new”. They have always created new structures around which to build the frameworks and new rules of engagement – whether it was the pioneers who settled Jamestown, Virginia in the 1600s, Malcolm X’s Black Panthers, or Martin Luther, who was branded a heretic by the Catholic Church.

In a world where everyone can become a celebrity, how does one reinsert status into life? This is where virtual worlds and online communities come in.

Today, you can demonstrate your popularity online with the number of Facebook friends or Twitter followers you have. With Playspan currency, you can trade goods and hoard stuff to show how clever you are.

It used to be said that power is not given; it is taken. But that can be messy, and it’s not certain you’ll emerge victorious. I have always preferred to think that power is created. I’d rather build my own cathedral than sit in someone else's any day of the week. So either we demonstrate to men that it is in their interests to share power (and they don’t seem to be responding to logic and rational arguments), or we create new structures – new businesses, new political parties, new organisations which compete and enable, through their success or not, a new more diverse power structure to emerge in society. These new structures should not be mirror reflections of the old boys' clubs, but should be radically open to talent – male or female. May the best person “win”.

Here, media is our friend. Oprah, Madonna, Martha Stewart demonstrate that if you want to become a billionaire, you need to figure out your media strategy. If you want to be a successful business woman, set up your own business like Natalie Massenet’s Net-a-Porter or Anita Roddick’s The Body Shop. But don’t toil in antique structures run by old boys' clubs and wonder why your brilliance is not being recognised.

Wherever there is a movement, something profoundly true about human behaviour is escaping to the surface. Celebrity used to be about status, but has become neutered. Use its tools, women. Let’s make having women directors the ultimate status symbol of boards here and abroad. I guarantee that when the numbers shift to equal representation, it’ll be female entrepreneurs who will make up the difference.