In 2021, women made up 45% of new directors; in 2022, the stat was 39% and in 2023 it was 38%. This early 2024 measure of 30.7% (of a total of 587 seats) represents an even steeper drop-off.
The seven-year low arrives as women still hold only 29.7% of board seats across the Russell 3000, a 0.3% increase from last year. Women of color hold only 7.8%. While there has been progress over the past decade to diversify boards, that progress hasn’t achieved anything near parity.
Heather Spilsbury, Women on Boards’ CEO, identifies a few reasons for the decline. Economic uncertainty leads companies to revert to their existing networks rather than broaden board searches for a wider pool of candidates, she says. Election years, too, bring more risk aversion, she argues. Some boards lack clear succession plans, slowing down the process of bringing on new directors, she says. Meanwhile, companies are watching a wave of conservative legal efforts against corporate diversity and inclusion efforts. And California’s SB826, which required boards in that state to have at least three female directors, was struck down in 2022, eliminating a strong motivator for businesses to maintain board diversity.
Across the Russell 3000, 41% of companies still have boards with two or fewer women. And some of those businesses are clearly focused on other pressures; companies with less diverse boards were more likely to exit the Russell 3000 because of sales, mergers, or bankruptcies, the report found. The financial services sector was the least diverse at the board level.
Expanding boards has led to the most successful diversification efforts; 87% of newly filled seats belonging to women were additions, not replacements.
“Addressing this decline requires a concerted effort from companies to actively seek out and support women, especially women of color,” Spilsbury says. “Broader societal and systemic changes are necessary to ensure women have equal opportunities to advance into leadership roles.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Rallying cry. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party trounced French President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-European centrist party in EU elections, earning 31% of the vote. As a result, Macron disbanded Parliament and called a snap election for three weeks from now. Le Pen said the election could “consecrate our movement as the great alternative political force” in France. Guardian
- Business of basketball. The U.S. Olympic women's basketball team hasn't been announced yet, but we know it won't include Caitlin Clark. The team will be fine without Clark, but it may have missed out on a big business opportunity to bring more fans to Olympic women's basketball. Wall Street Journal
- Scare in Copenhagen. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederisken was attacked by a man in a public square in Copenhagen. She was left “shaken;” the attack was not believed to have been politically motivated. Guardian
- Booking cash. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made more money outside of her judicial salary than any other justice last year, per financial disclosures released on Friday. Much of this income came from authoring Lovely One: A Memoir, which earned her $893,750 from her publisher. Forbes
- All ages. More teens are playing in the National Women's Soccer League as it adopts strict rules to ensure minors’ safety three years after an abuse scandal. The league is one of only a few in American sports that allows minors to be recruited. Washington Post
- Ruble ruler. Straight-talking Elvira Nabiullina is entering her second decade as the governor of the Bank of Russia and is seen as one of just a few free-thinking officials in the government. Nabiullina has kept the Russian economy afloat through intense sanctions and military combat, but faces critics. Bloomberg
ON MY RADAR
The darker side of Julia Louis-DreyfusNew York Times
Sophia Loren is not slowing downVogue
Malika Andrews plays through the pressure The New Yorker
PARTING WORDS
“Today, right now, there are people whose lives look different because of the work you contributed to. There are more fifth birthdays being celebrated by healthy kids. More women with bank accounts. ”
— Melinda French Gates in a letter to members and alumni of the Gates Foundation on her last day at the philanthropic organization
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