June 2021 Report Summary

June 2021 Women Joining Public Boards Report – Women Are 44% of Public Company Board Appointments

In June, women comprised 44% of all public board appointments. Public companies appointed 171 women to board and 217 men to their boards — keeping in line with the past 8-month trend.

The women appointed to fill board seats continue to diversify, with 53 women self-disclosing their race. In June, 45.2% of those women, 24, identified as Black / African American, closely followed by 20 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 8 women identifying as Hispanic and 1 woman identifying as Indigenous. iHeart Media Inc., Twitter Inc., and IRIDEX Corporation are some of the companies that appointed this phenomenal group of diverse women to their board. This trend towards including diverse voices in leadership is one that is mirrored when looking at women in the C-Suite and rising into CEO positions.

Of the 171 women appointed the boards of public companies, 87 were first time board appointments. First time board appointments included at companies like Vera Bradley, Inc. and Kirkland’s Inc. We will continue to watch and monitor this trend to ensure that the number of women occupying board seats across all industries continue to grow and the pipeline strong.

In June, Healthcare companies lead the way in the appointment of women followed by technology and consumer cyclical with women appointed filling 37.4% of board seats at healthcare companies. In the technology sector we see strides being made by women at companies like urban-gro, Inc. and monday.com Ltd.

In 2021, women have comprised 41.5% of board appointments with 54.8% of those being first time board appointments and 26% identifying as diverse. The goal is to ensure women comprise 50% of board appointments but also that the percentage identifying as diverse rises -and rises across all ethnic groups. The overall trend across companies is holding steady at over 40% which is progress since last fall.

Having said that, there is still a lot of progress to be made among the women of color and LGBTQ sub-segments. Equilar and WBC are tracking and analyzing the growth and rotation of board seats 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. The time is now for women to sit across all companies, boards, and sectors. Please, join us in celebrating, tracking, analyzing, and promoting women on boards of public companies.