October 2022 Report Summary

Companies continue to diversify board composition by appointing women to the board of public
companies.

In October, women comprised 30.4% of new appointments to the boards of public companies. Public companies appointed 77 women to boards and 176 men to their boards.

This means women comprised 45.8% of all new public board appointments! This high mark builds off an average 12-month trend where the average percentage of women appointed to the boards of public companies is 43%.

The pressure to increase diversity from the C-Suite to the board level remains.

While only 16 of the newly appointed women Board members (20.7% of new women appointments) chose to self-disclose their race, we continue to see diversification and continue to highlight the need to disclose. In October, for the first time, Latin/Hispanic women took the lead in board appointments with 6 women being appointed to public boards, making up 7.79% of all appointments. They are closely followed by 5 Black/African American women (6.49%), 4 Asian / Pacific Islander women (5.19%), and 1 Middle Eastern / North African woman (1.29%). Portland General Electric Company, Shake Shack Inc., and CubeSmart, are some of the companies that appointed this phenomenal group of diverse women to their boards.

Of the 77 women appointed to the boards of public companies, 46, or 59.7%, were first time board appointments. In October, Healthcare companies led the way in the appointment of women followed by Financial Services and Tech companies; with appointed women filling 22.07% of board seats at healthcare companies and 18.18% appointed to Financial Services. In the Tech sector, we see strides being made by women at companies like Fidelity National Information Services, 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.