May 16, 2016

Barriers to Board Positions Persist for Minorities and Women, Report Shows

Efforts to diversify America’s corporate boards with more minorities and women are still lagging, and Hispanics, in particular, are far behind other groups in being selected for directorships, according to an annual report on the board composition of large companies. Over all, 399 new directors were selected for the top company boards last year. Hispanics claimed only 4 percent of those appointments, or 16 seats. The gap has widened over the last seven years, according to Heidrick & Struggles Board Monitor, which has tracked board appointments since 2009.“The percentage of Hispanics appointed to such boards has not improved in recent years, even as they comprise 17 percent of the overall U.S. population,” said Bonnie W. Gwin, a co-managing partner of the executive recruitment company’s global C.E.O. and board practice. That compares with increases in directorships for women and African-Americans, but a decline in the number of Asians and Asian-Americans picked to fill board positions. Women made up 29.8 percent of the new directors named last year, up slightly from 29.2 percent in 2014, according to the board monitor, which tracks proxy filings, news releases and other corporate disclosures about board membership.Even as the percentage of new women directors has been rising each year, from 18 percent in 2009, the board monitor said it had revised downward a projection that women would reach parity with men in the number of new directors by 2024. It now predicts that women will make up 50 percent of new directors by 2026.

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