Only 27% of board seats globally are held by women

• The gaps are also very significant when it comes to origin, ethnic and racial diversity.
• Information related to the LGBTQ+ community is scarce or practically nil.

Author valerie hermann

The Global Modern Leadership report and its Board Diversity Gaps report, created by the Diligent Institute in collaboration with 22 organizations worldwide, is the first global analysis of boardroom diversity to be conducted. and gives us unique insight into the progression of inclusion on public and private boards globally.

For this study, each organization shared information on objectives, proposed goals, and job opportunities for minorities and underrepresented groups on boards, such as women, racial or ethnic minorities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals with international perspectives. 

The report included global data with an emphasis on various regions such as:

• America: United States, Canada and Latin America.
• Europe: Continental and UK.
• Oceania: Australia.
• Asia: India, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
• Middle East: United Arab Emirates and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Africa: Nigeria.

The results were similar between the regions, showing great opportunities for improvement. One of the main findings in Latin America is the perception of men and women about their own boards and that they do not have a direct relationship with the reported objective diversity, that is, women report on average a lower level of perceived diversity. 

Likewise, 66% of the women directors surveyed perceive “low” or “very low” levels of diversity; versus 44% of men. Notably, most directors reported that their boards needed more women and younger members, as well as directors with different skills and experiences in order to work more effectively. 

An important finding of the study was that women reported having suffered discriminatory treatment in their boards based on their origin or identity to a greater extent than men (30% vs 11%) and this treatment is more likely to be reported by members representing together with less perception of diversity.

Another key point to highlight in the region is the leadership on the boards of family businesses. There is a latent concern about the lack of outside, independent directors who can offer a different perspective and help balance power among family members. 

Ethnic and racial diversity 

Compared to the global increase in gender diversity, there are still fewer changes on boards regarding nationality and ethnic and racial diversity. 

Most boards tend to appoint a director who hails from the country where the company is headquartered. This is the case of Japan, its boards of directors have the highest percentage of local directors in relation to other nationalities, 98%. 

The United Kingdom is the exception, as it is the only country that requires listed companies to include at least one director from a minority racial or ethnic group. 

In the case of the Middle East, for example, according to research, the number of positions held by women on boards of directors has doubled in the last two years. Ongoing efforts by the United Arab Emirates to improve gender diversity in boardrooms have led to more women filling boardroom positions, rising from 3.5% in 2020 to 8.9% this year.  

Regarding the skills of the directors, women tend to have more experience and mastery in areas such as technology, sustainability and the legal area. 

According to Diligent's research, there are 3 times as many female directors with professional sustainability experience as their male counterparts. In this same order, female directors are twice as likely to hold three board seats compared to male directors. 

LGBTQ+ community

It should be noted that in most of the regions that participated in the report there is little or no data available regarding the LGBTQ+ community. This is mainly due to three key factors: (i) stigma and cultural differences regarding the acceptance of LGBTQ+ people; (ii) regional differences when it comes to recognition of LGBTQ+ status as a characteristic to be tracked; and (iii) the challenges of maintaining the confidentiality and protection of personal data information when it comes to revealing the LGBTQ+ status of employees. 

The United States is the only country among those investigated that provides data and information on members of the LGBTQ+ community on boards of directors. According to the data provided, only 0.5% of Fortune 500 board seats are held by members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Even when companies and organizations globally are working to improve opportunities for these groups, the reality is that there are still many gaps and the speed of these changes is very diverse and varies between public and private companies, even within the same country. .

Diversity gives companies a broader perspective of the actions they carry out and the messages they want to convey to society and future generations.