A 2019 Alliance for Board Diversity report indicated that only one-third of Fortune 500 companies had women or members from minority communication on top. Startups are far behind in corporate board diversity. So, are the current boards not willing to add variety to their executive committee? That does not seem to be the case. In this article at Bloomberg Law, Beth E. Berg and Reuben Zaramian share four ways to improve corporate board diversity.
Reviewing Board Diversity
Even though the committee members are ready to improve corporate board diversity, the evaluation process fails to acknowledge it. So, here are the four ways to improve your corporate board diversity:
Identify the Intent
Including women or people from different backgrounds in the executive rank does not enhance your corporate board diversity. The individual should be deserving and capable of providing varied perspectives to the board’s viewpoints. Adding one from each community would only check off representation. Add more to make the process of diversity effective.
Detect Skill Gaps
Discover what the existing board members bring to the table. Identify the skills that you require and look for candidates to fulfill the gaps and increase corporate board diversity. For instance, do you have personnel that can relate to the customers?
Widen the Search
It is common for board members to recommend people they know of. However, you must widen the search criteria beyond the known circle of probable candidates. Getting external hires can also help if there is no eligible resource inside the organization.
Rectify Evaluation
The traditional metrics will shortlist white male resources for your committee. To increase corporate board diversity, try searching for quality hires from unfamiliar backgrounds, ethnicity, and gender. Sometimes, not fitting into your general idea might be the only criterion to encourage a culturally rich board.
To view the original article in full, visit the following link: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/corporate-governance/steps-for-corporate-boards-serious-about-improving-diversity-in-the-boardroom
