Fortune – Diversity: Why Are US Boards Lagging Behind?

Media, news and events

In the News

Fortune – Diversity: Why Are US Boards Lagging Behind?

An early champion of diversifying corporate culture, the US has fallen behind much of the developed world over the past four years, according to Egon Zehnder’s 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis. This is partly due to the board quotas implemented in major European economies. But Carol Singleton Slade, Egon Zehnder's US board practice leader, also blames this trend on US attitudes to board directorships. "There's a cultural mindset in the US that if you exit a board, it’s a sign of failure. There's also a lot of ego tied up in tenure on boards," she explains. In her view, boards need to get rid of those "nice, collegial, not particularly impactful directors" and replace them with leaders from more diverse backgrounds.

Full story: Valentina Zarya: 1 Big Reason There Are So Few Women on U.S. Corporate Boards? Directors’ Egos in Fortune (8 February 2017).

Access international media coverage of Egon Zehnder's 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis