23 November, 2020

New ISS benchmarks increase the pressure for diverse boards

Despite a lack of clear guidelines, Russell 3000 and S&P 1500 boards will need to demonstrate diversity or risk anti-management proxy votes. In the wake of a turbulent year where racial inequal...

8 July, 2020

Axa introduces 33% gender diversity target for investee companies

A reminder that despite a global pandemic other critical issues remain front of mind—among them gender diversity in the boardroom. Axa Investment Management, the €804bn French fund manager, has...

25 June, 2020

Investors want gender diversity on boards—but aren’t sure about targets

A majority of the world’s institutional investors believe gender diversity on corporate boards is important. But far fewer believe prescriptive targets are the right means for achieving that diversi...

20 March, 2020

Putting more women at the helm of corporate boards

Since 2010, we have witnessed a sharp rise in the number of female directors in many developed economies. Yet the number of female board chairs has remained very low. Even in Sweden, which leads the w...

6 February, 2020

Parker Review reveals slow progress on ethnic minority appointments

Britain’s largest companies are failing to appoint members from ethnic minority groups, according to the latest iteration of the Parker Review. This year’s report, compiled by Sir John Parker, ...

2 January, 2020

Key trends in corporate governance for 2020

'The government needs to push through key business reforms' Roger Barker, head of corporate governance at the

4 December, 2019

FTSE 100 boards fail to improve BAME representation

Fresh research concludes that FTSE 100 companies have failed to improve black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) representation at the highest level. Indeed, despite much discussion of the issue, the p...

16 July, 2019

‘Practical actions needed’ to improve board diversity

Companies have begun to boast about their achievements in making their boardrooms more diverse. Research regularly reveals diversity is improving. But there is still some way to go. Whether on gend...

10 July, 2019

New threats to ‘diversity of thought’ despite better board composition

“We see some extremely good results. But there are also implications.” So says Dr Elisabeth Marx, a corporate lead...

11 June, 2019

Broadening board diversity is good corporate governance

Good governance lies at the heart of sustainable businesses. It is vital that directors, executive and non-executive alike, work to ensure their board delivers for all stakeholders, including sharehol...