Board Diversity Guide

Organisations face growing pressure to diversify their Boards of Directors, driven by both increased consumer and investor-led demand as well as strengthening regulatory requirements.

Much of the emphasis in recent years has been on improving female representation on Boards, however there is growing awareness that concentrating on only one form of diversity isn’t enough. Factors such as ethnicity, age, disability, neurodiversity, professional background, etc. are increasingly being considered alongside gender in broadening the diversity of perspectives represented on Boards, particularly for large or publicly listed companies.

Most importantly, having a Board made up of individuals that are recruited from and representative of the diversity of populations in which the organisation operates, is more likely to result decision-making that creates value for all stakeholders, i.e. 50/50 male/female, and including a range of ages, ethnicities, backgrounds etc. that accurately represents the social make-up of company operations and, importantly, other stakeholders.