"Corporate Board Diversity & Refreshment Practices" from Diligent/NYSE reflects the results of a survey conducted from mid-August through late September of 251 respondents (e.g., corporate directors, top executives, or other senior personnel) with direct knowledge of their company’s approach to board composition, diversity and refreshment practices.
Among the key takeaways:
- More than half (54%) of respondents have a strategy to increase their board's diversity; 27% said they don't yet, but plan to create one. The most common specific diversity goals include gender diversity, skill sets or expertise, and race/ethnicity diversity.
- Board refreshment strategies already implemented and deemed most likely to be adopted most commonly include limiting the number of board positions and disclosing board diversity data. Diversity quotas are rare in practice and unlikely to be voluntarily implemented, as shown here:
- For those companies that have set a time frame to meet board diversity goals, 1 - 3 years is the most common; however, 45% have not set a time frame to meet diversity goals.
See these articles from Corporate Counsel and IR Magazine; last week's report: "Board Diversity Search: Start Here!"; the Society/Deloitte: "Board Practices Quarterly: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion" report; and additional resources on our Board Diversity page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!