After years of asking corporate directors about the importance of diversity in the boardroom, we’ve got some good news: the vast majority see value in including more women and minorities. Nearly 95% of directors agree that diversity brings unique perspectives to the boardroom, while 84% believe it enhances board performance, according to our 2018 Annual Corporate Directors Survey.
Progress remains slow. Women hold just 24% of S&P 500 board seats, up only 3 percentage points since 2012, despite constituting 47% of the U.S. workforce and driving 70% to 80% of consumer spending everything from food and electronics to healthcare and financial services.
We’re also seeing signs of “diversity fatigue”: 52% of the directors in our survey say they think diversity efforts are motivated by political correctness, and 48% believe shareholders are too preoccupied with diversity.
So, where do we go from here?