Decreased Gender Diversity on Boards is Latest COVID Casualty

female board members

Image Credit © Norman Pogson | Dreamstime.com

It was an issue making significant progress in recent years, and numerous studies pointed to better performance companies experienced with diverse boards. And then COVID hit …

Now, opportunities for women on corporate and non-profit boards is decreasing and the latest casualty of the COVID crisis and it may take new government regulations to forward progress to achieve true board diversity, according to a new survey.

The independent WomenExecs on Boards (WEoB) is a global network of women who completed board governance programs at Harvard Business School and whose mission is to position qualified members to serve on boards through networking, peer support and education.

It shed light on the state of women’s participation both on boards and the overall workforce since COVID, including challenges faced in adapting to a hybrid and uncertain working model.

Key survey findings include:

“42% of our member respondents believe that the boards on which they serve are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) so that is a sign that progress is being made,” Patricia Christian, WEoB Co-President, said in a statement. “That said, there is still a lot to be done and we continue our mission to place members and illustrate, by example, how more diverse boards lead to better results and shareholder value.”

Exit mobile version