July 2022 Report Summary

As the summer heat rises, companies continue to diversify board composition and drive the path to parity. In July women comprised 40.4% of new appointments to the boards of public companies. Public companies appointed 112 women to boards and 165 men to their boards. We are seeing an 8% increase in women’s representation on public boards after the percentage of women on boards fell last month.

While only 30 of the newly appointed women Board members (26.7% of new women appointments) chose to self-disclose their race, we continue to see diversification and continue to highlight the need to disclose. In July, Asian/Pacific Islander women took the lead in board appointments with 16 women being appointed to public boards, making up 53.3% of those who chose to identify as women of color.

They are closely followed by 7 Black/African American women (36.6%), 2 Latin / Hispanic women (6.66%), and 1 Middle Eastern / North African women (3.33%). Vulcan Materials Company, Ziprecruiter, Inc., and Matterport, Inc., are some of the companies that appointed this phenomenal group of diverse women to their boards.

Of the 112 women appointed to the boards of public companies, 68 or 60.7% were first time board appointments, a substantially higher percentage compared to previous months. Thus, companies continue to build the pipeline of women on boards.

In July, Healthcare companies led the way in the appointment of women followed by Consumer Cyclical companies and Technology companies; with appointed women filling 25.9% of board seats at healthcare companies and 13.4% appointed to Tech companies. In the Consumer Cyclical sector, we see strides being made by women at companies like Sally Beauty Holdings, 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.