Diligent Institute's new report: “A Few Good Women: Gender and Inclusion in Board Leadership” looks at board gender "inclusion" rather than just diversity to reveal female directors' level of participation in board leadership roles and on board committees. Of the total 5,911 public companies represented in the analysis, 55.49%, or 3,280 companies, were US-listed. The balance of the respondent group reflects more than 20 other countries globally, including nearly 12% from the UK.
Noteworthy US findings based on 20% female representation on the 3,280 boards include:
- Women represent 7% of board chairs and lead directors (about 3x less so than men), and men are 4.33x more likely than women to be board leaders.
- 20% of board committee members and 17% of board committee chairs are women, compared to 24% and 21%, respectively, globally.
- Women in the US are much less likely to chair the Audit and Comp committees than women outside the US, as shown here:
The novel analysis also addresses past board leadership experience and leadership momentum, i.e., how long it takes men and women to reach board leadership positions if they don't join the board in those positions.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!