Boardroom diversity slowing amid anti-DEI sentiments at work: report

Progress on corporate boardroom diversity appears to be slowing as fewer directors view their boards as diverse, according to a new report.

The survey, released by Ariel Investments, polled 165 Black, Latino, and Latina Fortune 500 corporate directors who attended the Black Corporate Directors Conference in 2023.

According to the report, 81% of directors consider their boards as diverse, down from the 90% two years ago.

It also found that 41% of organisations did not hire a director from a diverse background in the past year. However, 26% said added a woman who identified as an underrepresented minority.

^{Source: Black Corporate Directors Study}

Growing anti-DEI sentiments

Despite these findings, the report noted that DEI remains a primary agenda for almost all boardrooms. In fact, 59% said DEI principles have been added as primary agenda in their board several years ago.

More than three in four directors (78%) surveyed, however, said their board conversations about DEI are "less thoughtful, balanced, and intentional" than two years ago.

These findings come amid growing sentiments against DEI strategies in the United States, where organisations such as Harley-Davidson and Tractor Supply are scaling back on their DEI initiatives.

The sentiments stem from a Supreme Court decision in June 2023 that ruled as unconstitutional and unlawful the college admission policies at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

According to the report, 29% of board directors expect the Supreme Court ruling to give companies an "easy out/excuse" for their lesser commitment to DEI.

"Leaders will use this as a reason to back away from prior commitments," one of the responses in the survey read.

^{Source: Black Corporate Directors Conference}

Call to action

Amid these concerns about DEI, the report urged organisations to foster a board culture that "empowers directors to speak up by regularly including the company's racial agenda in board meetings."

It also encouraged educating all employees, including executives, on why diversity is good for corporate results.

"Link business objectives to DEI goals using evidence on the revenue-driving benefits of diversity," the report read. "Do not only incentivise leadership teams to be successful - also hold them financially accountable for lack of progress," the report read.