THE NEWEST “Missing Pieces” Report, which looked at boards of Fortune 500 businesses throughout America, shows approximately 45 per cent of women and members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups served on boards in 2022, up from 38 per cent in 2020.
However, the rate of improvement is still unequal and variable among populations.
Even while the boardroom is beginning to represent a wider variety of lived experiences, the pace of change still has to be accelerated.
In collaboration with Deloitte, the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD) released the seventh edition of “Missing Pieces.”
The participation of women and people from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups on the boards of Fortune 500 firms is examined and documented in this thorough biennial study.
The most recent version of the research, which looked at data from 2020 to 2022, identifies trends in board diversity at Fortune-ranked firms, differences between these boards and the population of the United States, and variances in boardroom diversity across industries.
These revelations assist to enlighten and underscore the necessity of a more diverse board composition while also highlighting the advancements.
“The findings from this year’s report show gradual steps in the right direction, but at this pace, U.S. top corporate boards might not represent the nation’s population until 2060. Board diversity and inclusion isn’t only the right thing to do; it is a business imperative that builds broad stakeholder trust that ultimately can lead to better business outcomes”, Carey Oven, national managing partner, Center for Board Effectiveness, Deloitte LLP.
Over 30 per cent of Fortune 500 board seats were held by women in 2022, up from 26.5 per cent in 2020.
Since 2020, the number of African American/Black women on boards has increased by 47 per cent, adding 86 seats.
Women from Asia and the Pacific Islands increased by 27 per cent and gained 24 seats.
Latinas of Hispanic descent increased by 23.7 per cent, or 14 seats.
The proportion of board seats held by members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups increased from 17.5 per cent in the Fortune 500 in 2020 to 22.2 per cent in 2022.
In particular, the proportion of Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino(a), and African American/Black board members increased from 8.7 per cent to 11.9 per cent; Asian/Pacific Islander board members grew from 4.6 per cent to 5.4 per cent; and Hispanic/Latino(a) board members grew slightly from 4.1 per cent to 4.7 per cent.
Even though all groups have seen growth in board representation over the last decade, no Fortune 500 company board fully represents the demographic population in the United States.
*Founded in 2004, the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD) is a collaboration of four leadership organisations: Catalyst, the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR), and LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics).
The ABD’s mission enhances shareholder value in Fortune 500 companies by promoting inclusion of women and minorities on corporate boards.
*Missing Pieces Report: A board diversity census of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups on Fortune 500 boards.
Read the report here.
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