In this Corporate Compliance Insights article: "When it Comes to Diversity in the Boardroom, Progress is Not Perfection," BDO's Amy Rojik recounts various approaches boards are pursuing or may consider to actively increase their gender diversity. She notes that highly functioning boards are more apt to consider increasing their board size to accommodate new women directors so as to accommodate new perspectives without sacrificing currently effective contributors.
However, boards that are not currently functioning optimally (or that will be ripe for organic change due to normal succession events) should evaluate current circumstances that may warrant changes such as potential overboarded or overcommitted directors, collective director skill sets relative to the company's strategy, and current board diversity (in its broadest sense). Boards should also review their recruitment processes to accommodate more-expansive-than-the-traditional director candidate criteria, and consider mentoring and developing lower level management to enhance their future directorship opportunities.
Rojik cautions that the absence of a concerted effort by companies to increase board diversity may result in more quota mandates on par with California's new board gender quota law.
See our numerous board diversity resources, including company and board toolkits and diversity organizations and initiatives, on our Board Diversity page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!