The absence of racial as well as gender diversity on corporate boards is unacceptable. A diverse board will help companies more accurately reflect the population metrics of their communities, make better choices from a variety of perspectives and experiences and boost their standing. It is critical that companies and federal policymakers work to create systems that are equitable that can identify and attract the best talent, and restructure the selection process to increase diversity within American companies.
The main focus of board diversity discussions is on the need to rectify a misguided representation of the company’s demographics. However, the real objective should be to identify candidates with a diverse range of abilities, skills and experiences. Board members with diverse backgrounds can bring new perspectives to the table, disrupt the status quo and make more innovative decisions https://board.international/how-to-encouraging-an-effective-advisory-board/ that generate long-term value.
By combining a variety of factors like education, age, and professional experience, you can identify the categories that your board is not or over-represented in and target recruitment in line with these categories. If your board is disproportionately composed of people who have degrees in engineering, as an example it is possible to include an executive with prior experience in marketing to facilitate a deeper discussion.
Some companies go as that they make public statements about their commitment to diversity. This is an excellent way of holding the board and senior management to account. You can also utilize your board portal to conduct an audit on diversity that will identify areas where you must increase the diversity of your workforce.