A key feature of corporate boards in western countries is that their members are predominantly white males from similar corporate, social and educational backgrounds.
Such homogeneity does not reflect the modern perspective on stakeholders or the changing nature of the business world. Diversity is important, so what impact is it likely to have on issues of corporate governance and how can increased diversity on boards be achieved?
The business case for diversity
Diversity refers to the characteristics by which individuals categorise their social identity or are categorised by others. The most obvious of these are sex, race, age and ability/disability. But there are many other differences that individuals bring to their jobs, such as their human capital qualities (education, skills, work and other experiences, personalities, managerial style, thinking style, learning style, judgment and values) and their social capital (access to resources from their social and business networks).
See full Article (paid subscription required).
Posts
