The 50/50 Women on Boards’ (50/50WOB) Quarter 2022 Gender Diversity Index revealed the continuous decrease in women joining boards. The nonprofit announced that as of Dec. 31, 2022, women held only 28.4 percent of the Russell 3000 company board seats. This represents a 0.2 percent increase from the previous quarter, and a 1.7 percentage increase year-over-year. More disconcerting is the percentage of women joining boards continued to slip in Q4 2022 to 36 percent. The percentage of women joining boards in 2022 was 39 percent, significantly lower than 2019 and 2021, which were over 40 percent. To reach gender parity by 2030, the percentage of women joining boards annually needs to surpass 50 percent.
Other significant Q4 2022 of the 50/50 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Index findings include:
- 36 percent of the 414 directors who joined boards were female, the lowest percentage of women joining boards since the first six months of 2020.
- 82 percent of the seats gained by women were seats added to the board not replacing a man.
- The number of gender-balanced companies decreased by 2 from the previous quarter; however, companies with 3+ women on boards increased by 18, while the number of companies with 2, 1 and 0 women decreased by 50 combined.
- 28.4 percent of directors reported their race ethnicity, a 0.9 percentage point increase from Q3 2022.
- Based on those who self-identify, the percentage of people of color on boards is 16.9 percent, a 0.6 percent increase from the previous quarter, with 6.8 percent women of color and 10.1 percent men of color holding board seats.
- Further, Asian/Pacific Islanders comprise 5.6 percent of board directors, Black/African Americans 7.2 percent, Hispanic/Latinos 3 percent, and Indigenous People, Middle Eastern / North African, Multi-Racial & Other 1.1 percent of all board directors.
To read the full report, please visit: https://5050wob.com/reports/.
The overview of the Q4 2022
“Since 2010, we have been educating corporations on the business imperative of diverse boards. We have offered leadership development and board readiness training through our workshops and events; however, it’s not enough. This past year the pace slowed, which invertedly continues to impact the pipeline of women in leadership,” said Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire, Chief Executive Officer of 50/50WOB. “Corporations must continue to advance women in the workplace. Male leaders need to act by adding women and women of color to corporate board positions. And our organization is committed to helping them get there.”
The Make The Pledge campaign
Given the slow progression, 50/50WOB has established the #MakeThePledge campaign. The campaign encourages 57 companies with no women and 406 companies with one woman on their board to commit to appointing at least one more female board director by the end of 2023. To ensure companies with zero or one woman act on their commitment, 50/50WOB will launch a series of resources that include:
- An outline of the steps necessary to build an inclusive and diverse board.
- Offer board-readiness leadership training for corporate groups.
- Share a curated list of qualified board-ready women for businesses to reference.
- Launch a “How They Did It” series in the 50/50WOB Networking Hub, showcasing how directors landed their first board seat and enabling up-and-coming female board members to network with these directors.
For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5050-women-on-boards/.
About 50/50 Women on Boards (50/50WOB)
50/50 Women on Boards (50/50WOB) is a global nonprofit education and advocacy campaign. 50/50WOB mission is driving the movement toward gender balance and diversity on corporate boards. Since 2010 the campaign has published its 50/50 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Index directory and research reports to track the gender and racial diversity of Russell 3000 company board directors.
Educational programs and advocacy efforts produced by 50/50WOB include:
- An annual Global Conversation on Board Diversity.
- Year-round board-readiness educational workshops for individuals and corporate groups.
- The Networking Hub for alumni to connect to experts and corporate directors in support of their board journey.
For more information visit, www.5050wob.com.
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