Business
Men named John, Robert, James and William outnumber all women on corporate boards
IMAGE: H. ARMSTRONG ROBERTS/CORBIS
Despite public pressure to diversify company boards, the institution remains stereotypically familiar, according to a new report.
So familiar, in fact, that members named John, Robert, James and William outnumber all female board members at S&P 1500 companies, according to an analysis conducted by the consultancy firm EY. Women hold just 16% of all board seats at these companies.
The good news is that gender diversity in this realm of corporate America is rising, though slowly.
In 2014, 23% of new board members were women, up from 18% in 2013. That number, however, hasn't consistently grown in recent years. In 2012 it reached 21% before dropping to 18% the following year.
Over the past decade, the gains amount to just a five percentage point increase.
The EY report also points out that half of the companies that added women to their board did so by increasing board size. The move, according to the report, indicates that companies may not be "holistically refreshing" board memberships.
This also explains why companies with a larger board size tend to include more women in their membership. Just 54% of companies with a board size of seven directors have at least one female member. Nearly all boards with 12 directors have at least one woman.
"While progress is being made, it is not at the pace needed to result in a significant expansion of board diversity in the near term," the report said.
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