DiversIQ reported the following board- and workforce-related disclosure and practice trends based on its review of nearly 100 proxy statements filed thus far for the 2026 proxy season.
Board diversity
- Down from 92% in 2024, 53% of companies have disclosed one or more quantitative measures of board diversity, a trend that DiversIQ expects to continue.
- Board demographic diversity on S&P 500 and Russell 1000 boards has declined slightly from 2024 (with 2026 proxies reporting 2025 data) after a steady year over year increase since 2016. For purposes of this analysis, this means that the percentage of white males represented on boards declined each year from 2016 through 2024, but increased in 2025. DiversIQ expects this trend to continue.
- “Rooney Rule” commitments have declined from 40% in 2024 to 21% in 2025 among Russell 1000 companies.
Workforce diversity
- The percentage of companies publishing sustainability and/or human capital reports declined in 2024 and declined further in 2025. Comparing 2023 to 2025:
- Disclosure of quantitative workforce human capital metrics among S&P 500 companies (and presumably others as well) has declined significantly year over year across gender, race/ethnicity (white/nonwhite as well as specific racial/ethnic groups), and other demographics (age, veteran, LGBTQ+).
- The percentage of companies disclosing EEO-1 data for 2024 has declined across all indices, with DiversIQ expecting regulatory scrutiny and reduced investor pressures to prompt a further decline in 2026.