Diversity at the Big Table: A Snapshot of Fortune 500 Boards of Directors

Abstract

We enjoin stakeholder theory, radical-cultural feminist theory, and critical race theory with critical intersectionality to critique findings which suggest that there still are significantly more men than women on nearly every Fortune 500 board of directors, with only six corporations featuring (50-50%) gender equity in 2017. Also, only 4.1% board members are women of color and 9% are men of color. Sixty-five people of color on corporate boards serve on more than one board. This means there are even fewer people of color filling top corporate leadership positions than meets the eye. The proposed alternative course of action is for boards of directors to follow the example of the small handful of peer Fortune 500 corporations that have achieved greater levels of board diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Citation

Pompper, D., Ertem Eray, T., Adae, E.K., Amevor, E., Diop, L. and Nadel, S. (2021), "Diversity at the Big Table: A Snapshot of Fortune 500 Boards of Directors", Pompper, D. (Ed.) Public Relations for Social Responsibility (Communicating Responsible Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 51-69. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-167-620211004