Businesses have decided to improve the diversity of their boards, but the needle is moving slowly. In 2021, 30% of board directors were women and 21% were from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Today, those numbers for the S&P 500 are 32% and 22%, respectively. Still, more than three quarters of boards (76%) do not include a woman of color. Given the glacial pace of change, board members, executives and investors are asking, is diversity still a top priority?
Being intentional about diversity is the right thing to do, and it is also important for business innovation and growth. Accenture research found that the most diverse workplaces have an innovation mindset that is 11 times greater than the least diverse companies. Research also shows that companies with at least one woman on the board raised an average of 16% more funding ($302 million) than companies without any women on the board ($261 million).
