Corporate Board Diversity
Boards must have a plan to meet the growing demand from investors and other parties in the market for more diversity in their boardroom. These efforts should not only comprise the demographic elements of gender and ethnicity but also broad categories such as religion, nationality, cultural and religious background, and people with disabilities.
It is important to recognize however, that there have been some positive developments in the current state of boardroom diversification. We believe that boards should share their opinions, reveal their diversity composition, and look beyond the typical candidate pool in their search for candidates who are diverse.
The boardroom is the place where the diversity of viewpoints on issues that impact the business are essential for effective governance. However, many boards are confronted by the fact that their diversity is limited by their own membership. It is because many serving directors look for new members to join their networks. These networks may be comprised of those who are very similar to them, which reduces the pool of diverse candidates. The challenge is to break this cycle to ensure that the board has different appointments, as they will be beneficial to the company, and not just to fulfill the limit of. To help with this effort, we have compiled the top methods to increase diversity in the boardroom.