The Women Business Collaborative’s “Women Joining Public Boards” report from October of last year, shows a record number of women joining public boards. In October 2020, public companies appointed women to fill 125 seats, or 40.2% of seats filled — the largest number ever — including 44 women who identified as women of color. Healthcare and Tech companies led
the way.
The October 2020 report is the first time comprehensive data for women joining boards of public companies has been compiled and analyzed. The Women Business Collaborative (WBC), an alliance of 43+ national women business organizations and many stakeholders collaborating together to achieve equal position, pay and power for all business women, is partnering with Equilar, the leader in corporate data, to produce this monthly report.
The Women Joining Public Boards report shows the numbers, rates and profiles of women appointed to public boards with a focus on diversity and analyzes the industry sectors where women are participating on boards. Edie Fraser, CEO of WBC, shared that, “The time is now for women to sit across all boards. Join us in tracking, analyzing, promoting, and celebrating women on boards of public companies.” Ana Dutra, Chair of WBC Board Initiative, said, “This must become a trend over time and we will hold companies accountable.”
123 women were named to public boards in October of last year, 40.2% of board seats; and two of those women joined the boards of more than one company. It is noteworthy that several high-profile women are included in the list, that they sit across industries and so WBC and Equilar can track diversity.
In October last year, 44 women identified as women of color with 34 of those identifying as African American. This is a critical measure as diversity is at the forefront of business leadership and business practices in 2020. And progress is accelerating. For example, in January 2020 no women appointed to boards of public companies listed in the Russell 3000 index identified as women of color while in October that number is 30.
Health Care and Tech Leadership: Companies named in the report represent various industries to include high-tech, biotechnology/pharmaceutical, energy and retail. 21% of women were appointed to boards of public companies in the healthcare sector and 17.6% of women appointed were appointed to boards of public companies were in the technology sector including African American women appointed to the Boards of Adobe and Inuit.
The increase in the number of women appointed to boards of public companies also increases the number of seats women hold overall. According to the Women on Boards 2020 Gender Equality index women hold 22.6% of board seats of the Russell 3000 companies prior to October. Women joined the board of 23 companies in the Russell 3000 index in October and we are working to track the share of seats women hold across not only companies in the Russell 3000 index but all public companies.
David Chun, CEO of Equilar, said, “We are excited to partner with WBC and its members to issue this Monthly Report on Women Joining Public Boards with data and profiles to change and support underrepresented groups across the country.” WBC and Equilar will continue to track not only the women, in terms of numbers, diversity and profile; but the companies and in which industries are women board members and how many of the overall board seats are held by women.
