Heidrick & Struggles' annual "Board Monitor" revealed a significant uptick in new Black directors; a notable decline in the percentage of new directors that were current or former CEOs and CFOs; and an increased reliance on new directors with relevant industry experience, across the 425 newly appointed Fortune 500 independent directors in 2020.
Most notably, 2020 illustrated a dramatic shift in ethnic and racial diversity among new directors, as shown here:
Comparing 2019 (reported in “Board Monitor US 2020”) to 2020:
- The percentage of new Black directors increased from 10% to 28%.
- The percentage of new white directors declined from 76% to 59%.
- The percentage of new Latinx directors declined from 5% to 4%.
- The percentage of new Asian/Asian American directors increased from 8% to 9%.
- The percentage of women directors declined from 44% to 41%.
See Heidrick & Struggles' release; these articles from the WSJ and abc news; “Fortune 500 Boards May Not Be Truly Diverse Until 2074” (FEI); and additional resources on our Board Composition, Board Diversity, and Board Refreshment pages.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!