Study: Racial diversity stagnated on corporate boards

Many top U.S. companies have rushed to appoint Black members to their boards of directors in the wake of the racial justice protests that swept the country last year

NEW YORK -- Many U.S. companies have rushed to appoint Black members to their boards of directors since racial justice protests swept the country last year. But in the two preceding years, progress on increasing racial diversity on boards stagnated, a new study revealed Tuesday. Black men even lost ground. The Board Diversity Census, conducted by the Alliance of Board Diversity and the consulting firm Deloitte, points to the steep deficit companies face when it comes to fulfilling pledges to diversity in their ranks. An overwhelming 82.5% of directors among Fortune 500 company boards are white, according to the census. The census suggests that, until the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd galvanized a national reckoning on systemic racism, attention to racial diversity took something of a backseat to gender equality in boardrooms.