Zurich, December 5, 2024 – Egon Zehnder, the world’s preeminent leadership advisory firm, today released the findings of its annual Global Board Diversity Tracker. For the last 20 years, Egon Zehnder has tracked board diversity around the globe, witnessing new milestones as well as setbacks and opportunities for additional growth. As the historical data shows, progress has not always followed a smooth path, but gradual and consistent improvements have continued.
Data from this year's report found that, from 2012 to 2024, the percentage of board positions held by women globally has risen steadily from 13.6% to 29.3%, at an average increase of 2.6% every two years. Similarly, the number of companies with a woman on their board rose from 84.9% in 2018 to 96% in 2024. In other areas, however, the pendulum began to swing backward.
As dissenting opinions became louder over the past year, programs designed to increase diverse representation in business came under attack. The DEI backtracking trend has left many leaders defending DEI rather than promoting it.
This trend plays out in the data as well:
- Decrease in new female board directors: When looking at the number of new female directors appointed globally in 2024, there was a considerable drop in the percentage of appointments made: from 17.2% in 2020 to 16.3% in 2022 – to 14.2% in 2024.
- A decrease in appointments of ethnic and racial minority directors also occurred in 2024. Looking at new directors at companies in the S&P 500, people of color represented 34.1% of new board members in 2022 – but that number fell to 24.2% in 2024.
- Lack of LGBTQ+ representation at the board level: Of the more than 5,400 board seats at companies in the Fortune 500, only 45 are held by openly LGBTQ+ individuals (0.8%), according to data from Out Leadership.
“To me, it is clear that the questions raised by DEI critics present opportunities for innovation, not deletion, for corporate leaders,” said Cynthia Soledad, Global Head of DEI at Egon Zehnder. “In my conversations with C-suite and board leaders, I see a continued commitment to more diverse representation and greater inclusion. The pace and tone might look different going forward than in years past, but executives still consider diversity critical to their business.”
Data from the new Global Board Diversity Tracker shows gradual progress toward companies’ DEI commitments. In 2024, 96% of boards worldwide included at least one female member – in 2012, that number was only 76%. Additionally, approximately 24% of board members appointed in 2024 did not have CEO/ CFO or finance experience, showing an openness to nontraditional backgrounds. Legal, operations, technology and human resources are the most common newly sought director backgrounds, according to Egon Zehnder’s data.
As boards look to create more inclusive cultures they must embrace the increase in diverse representation around the table. The modest uptick in diversity on boards found in this year’s report is an indicator of a first step in this direction.
For more insights from the 2024 Global Diversity Tracker, visit the report.
About Egon Zehnder
Egon Zehnder is the world’s preeminent leadership advisory firm, inspiring leaders to navigate complex questions with human answers. We help organizations get to the heart of their leadership challenges and offer honest feedback and insights to help leaders realize their true being and purpose.
We are built on a foundation that supports partnership in the truest sense of the word and aligns our interests with the interests of our clients. Our 600 consultants across 66 offices and 36 countries are former industry and functional leaders who collaborate seamlessly to deliver the full power of the Firm to every client, every time. We believe that together we can transform people, organizations and the world through leadership.
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Martin Klusmann, Egon Zehnder, martin.klusmann@egonzehnder.com
Jill Cockerham, Egon Zehnder, jill.cockerham@egonzehnder.com
