Taking Board Diversity to the Next Level

While it’s gratifying that boards are focusing more on addressing gender, ethnicity and diversity in the boardroom, many are struggling to realize their true potential. Boards who treat the hiring of diverse directors as an “check box” exercise may end up with a demographically diverse board, but a lack of cognitive diversity that can dramatically impact the effectiveness of boards.

When diversity is introduced to an organization in the right way, the result can be transformative. When women are represented in a board, their perspectives on subjects like merchandising or marketing can be incorporated in deliberations. The result is a better understanding of the customer and their requirements, which can increase sales and profits.

Diversity can also help improve the company’s environment. For example boards with members from a variety of demographics can be more attentive to concerns regarding sexual harassment and workplace discrimination and more likely to anticipate changing attitudes of employees about equal pay and other corporate practices.

If a board is looking to take its diversity efforts to the next level, a good place to start is by considering what it should be like in the near future and how it will find and find candidates with the appropriate qualifications, experience, and connections to get it that way. To accomplish this, the board can conduct a self-assessment of its current composition. It can also make use of resources like the Michigan Nonprofit Association’s diversity tool to spark open conversations between board members as well as key stakeholders about what they are looking for in terms diversity.

https://affordableboard.com/10-questions-boards-need-to-ask-about-cybersecurity/