Women directors are minority in S&P 500 companies

Not-withstanding the calls to diversify corporate boards, men held 80.1 per cent of S&P 500 board seats, while women only held 19.9 per cent, according to new data released by Catalyst on Wednesday.

The global expert on accelerating progress for women through workplace inclusion said that overwhelming majority of new directorships continue to go to men and women board seats are not on path to parity.

“Although some US companies are prioritising board diversity, building it into the fabric of their key talent decision-making, they still have a long way to go before women’s representation on their boards and throughout their executive ranks is near parity with men,” the report said.

The 2015 Catalyst Census: Women and Men Board Directors examines women’s and men’s representation on S&P 500 boards of directors.

Among S&P 500 new directorships, men held 73.1 per cent, while women held 26.9 per cent. “Our new Census shows little progress has been made at the board level, and even less progress has been made in the pipeline for women officers and directors, suggesting women are nowhere near the path to parity with men,” Catalyst president and CEO Deborah Gillis said.

“Men continue to be overrepresented, holding more than their fair share of board seats and, in some cases, all the board seats,” she added.

The report further noted that only 2.8 per cent of S&P 500 companies had zero women directors and 24.6 per cent had one. Only 14.2 per cent of companies had 30 per cent or more women on their boards.

“Unfortunately, these data indicate that the United States stands in stark contrast to other countries where intentional, bold action is being taken by businesses and governments to accelerate meaningful, sustainable change. The US companies are missing opportunities to achieve gender diversity,” Mr Gillis said.