Dive Brief:

• Year-over-year growth of women on corporate boards has slowed to 1%, an analysis of Russell 3000 Index companies showed. That’s down from the 2% to 3% range in other recent years.
• The study by 50/50 Women on Boards, Equilar and Bentley University revealed that women hold 30% of board seats on average, with women of color holding only 8% of board seats.
• At this rate, gender parity on boards is projected for 2044. 

Dive Insight:

Researchers called out incremental progress: The amount of boards with three or more women has almost doubled between 2019 to 2024. Likewise, an increasing number of states seem to be home to boards with more than 30% women.

But the data may indicate a troubling trend. On average, 150 women leave boards; last year, 253 left, and this year, 265 left.

It mirrors an ongoing trend in the diversity, equity and inclusion space, where interest and investments in equity seemed to be slowing. A slew of companies very publicly dropped DEI commitments this summer. Employers are also investing less in the development of women — especially women of color — according to McKinsey & Co. analysis.

Still, there is room for nuance: About 200 CHROs interviewed by The Conference Board declared that DEI would remain a priority in 2024 and even the boards of the companies that were dropping DEI are not dominated by White men.

Moreover, 49 Congress representatives recently put out a call to America’s CEOs — particularly the Fortune 1,000 — to stop tabling DEI.

“Fostering a culture of equality allows your companies to remain competitive, letting them recruit and retain the best employees from our country’s increasingly diverse and talented workforce,” the open letter, published on Oct. 15, said. “Research shows that the companies whose workforces reflect our nation’s gender and racial diversity are more likely to outperform all other companies.” 

The collective added that policies and practices that reflect the U.S.’s diversity “increase employee productivity and improve retention.”

Per 50/50 Women on Boards, the road to board parity can be expedited:  “Looking forward, if companies were to increase both the seats held by women and those held by women of color to 2% annually, we would achieve our mission of 50% women and 20% women of color on boards in a single decade,” researchers said.