This annual MSCI report provides an overview of the state of diversity on boards and in other corporate leadership roles. In 2023, women held 25.8% of board seats at large- and mid-cap companies, up just over a percentage point from 2022. Only 9.1% of board chair roles were held by women.

The large-scale trends shaping the ESG-investing world are well-known at this point: climate change risk and the road to net zero, the growing existential threat of biodiversity loss, social inequalities, regulation and, lately, debate and controversy over what exactly ESG should be. This year, M...