Boards don’t have to wait for men to retire, said Heather Spilsbury, chief operating officer at 50/50 Women on Boards, which is advocating for gender parity in the boardroom among the Russell 3000. Many companies are adding seats to make room for new women directors or directors of color as a way of shifting the ratios. There are currently 5,498 seats among S&P 500 companies, with 1,822 held by women and 3,676 by men.
“If a woman is a CEO or if they have three or more women on the board, they’re most likely to bring in more diverse candidates and build a more diverse workforce,” Spilsbury said, citing the group’s research.
This year, the 50/50 group introduced a list of 50 women it considers board-ready who aren’t already serving on a board, to help speed up the process. Still, at the current rate, the S&P 500 will probably not hit gender parity until the early 2030s, with the Russell 3000 — filled with smaller companies — taking even longer.
The post Bloomberg: Scores of Men Retiring From Boards Open Record Seats to Women appeared first on 50/50 Women on Boards.
