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Alliance for Board Diversity and Deloitte Report Shows Women and Minorities Continue to Make Progress in Board Representation

The number of Fortune 500 companies with over 40% diversity on their boards is nearly four times higher than it was in 2010, according to the sixth edition of the “Missing Pieces Report: A Board Diversity Census of Women and Minorities on Fortune 500 Boards,” a multiyear study published by the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD), in collaboration with Deloitte.

Diversified Search Group is a founding member of the Alliance for Board Diversity and serves as an advisor and facilitator.

Representation matters, and companies that are intentional in their selection of board leadership have proven successful in recruiting other strong diverse candidates. Diversified Search Group recognizes that opportunity begets opportunity, and that leading by example is often the most effective way to bring about real and substantial progress.

Dale E. Jones, CEO, Diversified Search Group

Read the full report here. 

Key Missing Pieces findings for the Fortune 500 include:

  • African American/Black women gained 29 seats in 2020, an increase of 18.8% from 2018. Surprisingly, African American/Black men lost 5 seats in 2020, a decrease of 1.5% from 2018. African American/Black board members hold 8.7% (510 seats) as of June 30, 2020 per the report’s methodology.
  • Hispanic/Latino men gained 13 seats in 2020, an increase of 7.7% from 2018. Hispanic/Latina women gained 14 seats in 2020, an increase of 31.1% from 2018. Hispanic/Latino(a) board members hold 4.1% (240 seats).
  • Asian/Pacific Islander men gained 33 seats in 2020, an increase of 22.3% from 2018. Asian/Pacific Islander women gained 28 seats, an increase of 45.9% from 2018. Asian/Pacific Islander board members hold 4.6% (270 seats).
  • White women made the largest strides, gaining 209 board seats in 2020 an increase of 20.6% from 2018.
  • After a further analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the data from 2016, 2018, and 2020, the impact of placing women and minorities into the positions of board chair and nominating or governance chair can pay immediate and future dividends for the promotion of board diversity.
  • While 29 companies demonstrate 60% or greater women and minority representation, no companies in the Fortune 500 are representative of the demographics of the United States, with the benchmarks of 50% women, 13% African American/Black, 18% Hispanic/Latino(a), and 6% Asian/Pacific Islander per the most recent (July 2019) United States Census Bureau, “Population Estimates Quick Facts.”
  • The study also showed that boards more frequently will pull from a pool of existing minority board members instead of bringing in new directors. Two out of every five African American/Black board members serve on multiple Fortune 500 boards.