Bloomberg’s recent piece on women gaining ground in S&P 500 boardrooms quotes Diversified Search Group CEO Aileen Alexander. Since 2021, the number of women occupying seats in S&P 500 company boardrooms rose by 113 – a 7% increase. Among industrial and energy companies, the increase was 12% and 11% respectively.
“The increasing interest in diverse slates of candidates is symptomatic of the ongoing war for talent,” Aileen said. “The war for talent also means that the diversity of a board can be a signal to potential candidates of the tone at the company.”
The article notes a few other interesting data points:
- The percentage of female directorships increased to 30.6% in December 2021.
- Only one company in the index saw a reduction in the number of female directors. Nine companies saw increases.
- The Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which tracks the financial performance of companies supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency, returned 4.5% in December, outperforming the MSCI World Index, which returned 4.3%.
You can read the article, authored by Jeff Green, here. (subscription required)