Women on Boards
Global Board Seats Held by Women±1
Global Women Board Chairs±2
Women’s Historical Share of Board Leadership in Northern America
U.S.
- In 2011, 8.3% of Fortune 500 lead directors were women, compared to 8.8% in 2010.3
Women as Fortune 500 Board Committee Chairs4
Canada
Women as Financial Post 500 Public Company Board Committee Chairs5
Racially/Ethnically Diverse Directors in the U.S.
People of Color’s Share of Fortune 500 Boards Seats6
Women of Color on Boards in the U.S.
- Among Fortune 500 companies in 2011:
- Women of color directors held 3.0% of overall board seats, compared to 13.1% of board seats held by white women.7
- Of all Women Directors:
- Black women were 11.3%8
- Latinas were 4.9%9
- Asian women were 2.5%.10
- Examining the data by company, 70.7% of Fortune 500 companies had no women of color directors serving on their board. 11
Note: ± Reports data where available. Most data is based on a study conducted by Governance Metrics International, which did not include every company in each country, and only countries with at least 10 companies are included here. Different sources show slightly different numbers. Whenever possible, the most detailed source is used. Please see the chart source citations below for full details.
Sources
1Unless otherwise specified below, data is derived from: Kimgerly Gladman and Michelle Lamb, GMI Ratings' 2012 Women on Boards Survey (GovernanceMetrics International, 2012).
Norway: Statistics Norway, "Board Representatives, by Gender, Age Groups, Level of Education, Size Groups and Economic Activity" (January 2011).
United States: Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011);
South Africa: Business Women’s Association of South Africa, BWA South African Women in Leadership Census 2011 (2011).
Israel: Yahel Ash Kurlander and Gal Shargil, Women Leading Business: The 2010 Israeli Census Report on Women’s Representation in Tel Aviv 100 Index Companies (Israel Women’s Network, 2011).
Canada: Statistic reported is the percent of board seats held by women in public companies only. This statistic is more comparable to the other data sources utilized in this chart than the percent of board seats held by women across the entire Financial Post 500 list. See the 2012 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Board Directors Appendix 1 - Methodology for more information.
Liz Mulligan-Ferry, Morgan Friedrich, and Sabra Nathanson, 2011 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2012).
United Kingdom: Ruth Sealy and Susan Vinnicombe, The Female FTSE Board Report 2012: Milestone or Millstone? (Cranfield International Centre for Women Leaders, 2012).
New Zealand: New Zealand Human Rights Commission, New Zealand Census of Women's Participation (November 2010).
Hong Kong: Shalini Mahtani, Kate Vernon, and Ruth Sealy, Women on Boards: Hang Seng Index 2009 (Community Business and Cranfield School of Management, 2009).
Singapore: Marleen Dieleman and Sherwin Lim, Singapore Board Diversity Report: Gender Diversity in SGX-Listed Companies (Board Agender, Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organizations, and National University of Singapore Business School, 2011).
Australia: Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, EOWA 2010: Australian Census of Women in Leadership (2010).
India: Aparna Banerji, Shalini Mahtani, Ruth Sealy, and Susan Vinnicombe, Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India 2010 (Community Business and Cranfield School of Management, September 2010).
Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia: The National Investor Market Insight, Power Matters: A Survey of Gulf Cooperation Council Boards (2008).
2 Unless otherwise specified below, data is derived from: Kimberly Gladman and Michelle Lamb, GMI Ratings' 2012 Women on Boards Survey (GovernanceMetrics International, 2012).
South Africa: Business Women’s Association of South Africa, BWA South African Women in Leadership Census 2011 (2011).
United States: Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011);
Israel: Yahel Ash Kurlander and Gal Shargil, Women Leading Business: The 2010 Israeli Census Report on Women’s Representation in Tel Aviv 100 Index Companies (Israel Women’s Network, 2011).
Canada: Liz Mulligan-Ferry, Morgan Friedrich, and Sabra Nathanson, 2011 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2012).
Singapore: Marleen Dieleman and Sherwin Lim, Singapore Board Diversity Report: Gender Diversity in SGX-Listed Companies (Board Agender, Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organizations, and National University of Singapore Business School, 2011).
United Kingdom: Ruth Sealy and Susan Vinnicombe, The Female FTSE Board Report 2012: Milestone or Millstone? (Cranfield International Centre for Women Leaders, 2012).
Hong Kong: Shalini Mahtani, Kate Vernon, and Ruth Sealy, Women on Boards: Hang Seng Index 2009 (Community Business and Cranfield School of Management, 2009).
Australia: Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, EOWA 2010: Australian Census of Women in Leadership (2010).
3 Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011).
4 Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011); Rachel Soares, Jan Combopiano, Allyson Regis, Yelena Shur, and Rosita Wong, 2010 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2010). Rachel Soares, Nancy M. Carter, and Jan Combopiano, 2009 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2009). Catalyst, 2008 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of the Fortune 500 (2008). Catalyst, 2006 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of the Fortune 500 (2007). Catalyst, 2005 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of the Fortune 500 (2006).
5Liz Mulligan-Ferry, Morgan Friedrich, and Sabra Nathanson, 2011 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2012).
Laura Jenner, Liz Mulligan-Ferry, and Rachel Soares, 2009 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2010).
Laura Jenner, Monica Dyer, and Lilly Whitham, 2007 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of the FP500: Voices From the Boardroom (Catalyst, 2008).
Catalyst, 2005 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of the FP500 (2006).
6 Alliance for Board Diversity, Missing Pieces: Women and Minorities on Fortune 500 Boards—2010 Alliance for Board Diversity Census (2011).
7 Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011).
8 Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011).
9 Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011).
10 Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011).
11 Rachel Soares, Baye Cobb, Ellen Lebow, Hannah Winsten, Veronica Wojnas, and Allyson Regis, 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (Catalyst, 2011).
UPDATED on April 9, 2012
