ZURICH and LONDON and NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Egon Zehnder, the world's leadership advisory firm, today released its 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis, with data suggesting that although gender diversity progress is positive overall, the composition of the boardroom does not reflect the versatility of thought, gender, age, nationality or perspective reflective of the global stakeholders that businesses serve. The firm's bi-annual study, which examines board data for 1,491 of the world's largest companies across 44 countries globally with market capitalization exceeding EUR 6 billion, has been produced since 2004, making the 2016 analysis its most extensive to date.
"A modern organization is only as successful as its leadership's ability to navigate a near-constant state of change, and the momentum for achieving gender parity is simply not occurring at the pace of progress required," said Rajeev Vasudeva, Chief Executive Officer, Egon Zehnder. "The Global Board Diversity Analysis reinforces that we must continue to accelerate efforts to broaden opportunities at the highest levels of leadership for women, requiring we rethink what great leadership entails. Leaders today must pave the way for diversity to become the next disruptive force in business, embracing diversity as a fundamental and reimagining it for the long-term benefit of organizations."
Key Findings
The data from the 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis explores why some countries are able to transform their boards to better represent the society around them, and reveals continuing challenges in gaining parity in the boardroom. Key findings from the report include:
Gender parity in the boardroom continues on an upward trajectory globally, with slow but positive progress.
Pipeline progress for increasing female presence in the boardroom is weak.
Global progress varies, with countries and regions advancing diversity to achieve the critical mass of three female directors per board on average, while many others are still slow to progress or stagnated.
U.S. remains stagnant
: From 2012 to 2014, the U.S. experienced just 1 percent growth in board diversity, going from 19 percent in 2012 to 20 percent in 2016. The country has also fallen short of the three-female member tipping point with 2.1 women per board.
Countries slow to progress
: Of the 44 countries studied, there are 11 countries slow to progress on board diversity, where at least half of the boards do not have a single female representative:
Transforming board gender composition is possible globally, but it will require long-held beliefs to be challenged and emerging best practices to be implemented more consistently and broadly.
Boards must reflect the perspectives of the commercial context of business and how and where they operate, broadening the lens on diversity to incorporate age and nationality.
"Our research from the 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis suggests that we need to embrace and celebrate difference not just in gender, but in experiences, cultures and perspectives," said Karoline Vinsrygg, Global Co-leader, Diversity Council, Egon Zehnder. "Leaders must cast an eye to the future, investing in improving the executive pipeline while re-considering the leadership requirements needed to be successful going forward. The world needs inclusive leaders who will serve as role models, embracing and leveraging the power of difference and inspiring sustained diversity progress."
For an interactive experience with the data, explore the Global Board Diversity Analysis Data Visualizer and Report Builder http://www.egonzehnder.com/GBDA.
To explore the complete findings, including Egon Zehnder's Constructive Roadmap for Building Diverse Boards, please download the Global Board Diversity Analysis Report PDF http://www.gbda.online/assets/2016_GBDA_DIGITAL_FINAL.pdf.
To learn more about Egon Zehnder's Diversity and Inclusion activities, please go to http://www.egonzehnder.com/our-services/client-services/diversity-and-inclusion.html.
About the Egon Zehnder Global Board Diversity Analysis
The 2016 Egon Zehnder Global Board Diversity Analysis examined the boards of the largest companies across 44 countries globally – Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and United States. This is the seventh report of its kind since the initial study findings were reported in 2004. Data was sourced in May 2016, and the total analysis considered data from 1,491 companies worldwide, most of which have market caps exceeding EUR 6 billion, with exceptions granted to ensure the study examined the boards of at least six of the largest companies in each country. The 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis reveals the firm's findings and concludes with a list of recommendations for boards to consider regarding the issues.
About Egon Zehnder
Since 1964, Egon Zehnder has been at the forefront of defining great leadership in the face of changing economic conditions, emerging opportunities and evolving business goals. With more than 425 consultants in 69 offices and 41 countries around the globe, we work closely with public and private corporations, family-owned enterprises and nonprofit and government agencies to provide board advisory services, CEO and leadership succession planning, executive search and assessment, and leadership development. For more information visit www.egonzehnder.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.