Unpacking the black box of LGBTQ+ Corporate Board Representation
Report shows LGBTQ+ people experience Board diversity in reverse gear
The Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors, the leading national organization advancing LGBTQ+ representation on corporate boards founded in June 2022, published its LGBTQ+ Board Monitor 2023, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase and Equilar, today - you can download it here.
Between 2022 and 2023, openly LGBTQ+ Directors lost a board seat on Fortune 500 - now occupying 33 seats, dipping below 0.6% in representation. Moreover, only 6% of all Fortune 500 boards include LGBTQ+ Directors.
Cisco, Altria, and Macys are the queerest boards in Fortune 500, with an honorable mention for Ralph Lauren, a Fortune 1000, which boasts 3 LGBTQ+ Board members.
Betsy Bernard, a Fortune 500 Board Director herself and co-chair of the Advisory Board to the Association, introduced the report by stating:
"As business leaders when we plan for the future of companies, we must consider that an estimated 7.1% of the US population now self-identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning and that their contribution to the economy amount to trillions of dollars. The role that LGBTQ+ people now play as their companies’ employees, consumers, and investors are crucial to the American economy,”
The Association's review identified through a survey of more than 200 LGBTQ+ existing and aspiring Board members conducted between February and
March 2023, some systemic and cultural barriers to LGBTQ+ representation, including:
a lost generation of LGBTQ+ role models in the Boardroom,
some continuous misconceptions about LGBTQ+ talent,
and a “network gap.”
The report also speaks about the specific experience of LGBTQ+ women and ethnic and racial minorities in accessing the boardroom.
It includes the complete listing of Fortune 500 companies with an openly LGBTQ+ person on the board as of April 2023 and a list of self-identified LGBTQ+ Board members in public and private company Boards. In my introduction, I wrote:
" We want to create a virtuous cycle for LGBTQ+ representation. When LGBTQ+ people claim their rightful space in the corporate Boardroom, they inspire others to consider board service as part of their professional trajectory and achieve the same. Our members showcase how the insights, experience, and expertise of LGBTQ+ people are valued once they have the opportunity to contribute to decision-making. The Association believes in our ability to transform corporate governance to work for all of us and ensure that boards mirror the world it serves”
With more than 500 members in the Association, 25 percent of which report a CEO experience, 59 percent prior board experience, including ineffective non-profits, and 60 percent C-suite experience, supply is not the issue; access is.
The Association is planning its first-ever conference of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors on October 19th, 2023, in New York City.
You can access the report here.
About the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors
The Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase and Equilar, promotes LGBTQ+ board diversity to maximize business success. The Association is an advocate and resource for corporate boards, search firms, private equity, and institutional investors interested in gaining access to exceptional LGBTQ+ board talent with a particular focus on women and ethnic and racial minorities. Our program areas focus on growing the supply of high-caliber boardroom candidates and providing quality corporate governance programming for experienced and aspiring directors.