April 2022 Report Summary

Companies continue to move towards parity and the commitment to diversifying board composition continues. Women are rising in numbers and in representation in the boardroom. In April women comprised 41.1% of new appointments to the boards of public companies. Public companies appointed 125 women to boards and 175 men to their boards. Women are rising up, and the monthly average holding steady at around 41%.

While only 44 of the newly appointed women Board members (35% of new women appointments) chose to self-disclose their race, we continue to see diversification. In April, Black/African American women took the lead in board appointments again with 18 women being appointed to public boards, making up 40.9% of the 44 newly appointed women. They are closely followed by 17 Asian/Pacific Islander women (38.6%), 1 Middle Eastern / North African woman (2.27%), 8 Latin / Hispanic women (18.18%). The Home Depot, Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., and Signature Bank, are some of the companies that appointed this phenomenal group of diverse women to their boards.

Of the 125 women appointed to the boards of public companies, 76 or 60.8% were first time board appointments, a substantially higher percentage compared to previous months. Thus, the trend to build the pipeline and number of women on boards continues to rose. In April, Healthcare companies led the way in the appointment of women followed by Financial Services companies and Technology companies; with appointed women filling 24% of board seats at healthcare companies and 20% appointed to Financial Services. In the Tech sector, we see strides being made by women at companies like Marvell Technology, Inc. and TaskUs, Inc.

Equilar and WBC are tracking and analyzing the growth and rotation of board seats on public companies and the expanding candidate pool. We will continue to track not only the women in terms of numbers, diversity and profile; but the companies and industries in which female board members are present and how many of the overall board seats are held by women. Please, join us in celebrating, tracking, analyzing, and promoting women serving on corporate boards.