According to Black Enterprise based on its annual review of S&P 500 boards, black representation in the boardroom is improving, particularly at the largest tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Alphabet, HP, and Netflex - all of which have added black board representation in recent years.
Specifically, this year's analysis revealed:
- 21 black chairmen and lead directors
- 322 black corporate directors at 307 companies, compared to 308 at 316 companies last year
- 37% of the S&P 500 had no black directors this year, compared to 39% last year
Retired EVP for Lockheed Martin’s IS & Global Solutions Linda Gooden said: “Many of the tech companies, particularly in Silicon Valley, are working diligently to address the diversity issue. This trend will continue because the demographics of the nation and the composition of the workforce is rapidly changing along many dimensions and the likely business stakeholders—customers, shareholders, and employees—are becoming increasingly diverse.”
See our prior report: "Coalition Reports on Women of Color Board Diversity Campaign"; Board Agenda/Diligent's "The path to board diversity"; and additional information & resources on our Board Diversity page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!