Culture   //   February 4, 2025

Progress, pushback and persistence define state of DEI on corporate boards

There was a time when having a woman on a corporate board was considered progress. Times have changed, mostly for the better.

According to consulting and executive search firm Egon Zehnder’s Global Board Diversity Tracker — which has followed board diversity trends for 20 years — 96% of companies globally now have at least one female director on the board, up from 84.9% in 2018. What’s more, between 2012 and 2024, women’s representation on company boards steadily improved — climbing from 13.6% to 29.3%.

“There’s no doubt that, following a strong pace of change in the past decade, the pendulum is swinging,” said Cynthia Soledad, global head of DEI at Egon Zehnder.

But don’t break out the champagne just yet.

The present conservative pushback against DEI programs may be having a negative impact on that progress, as new female board appointments fell from 17.2% in 2020 to 14.2% in 2024. Meanwhile, across the S&P 500, appointments of directors of color declined from 34.1% in 2022 to 24.2% in 2024.

Yet it would be misguided to write off DEI completely, workplace experts advise.

“There’s no doubt that, following a strong pace of change in the past decade, the pendulum is swinging.”
Cynthia Soledad
global head of DEI, Egon Zehnder

“The CEO and board are responsible to the shareholders, but they’re also responsible for driving profit for those shareholders. Cutting back on DEI will hurt their profitability in the long run,” said Hunter Johnson, founder and CEO at marketing agency Xpedition. He points out that several companies — among them, Costco, JPMorgan Chase and Nike — are standing firm in their DEI commitments, even as others, like Amazon, Target and Ford Motor Co., ditch theirs.

Danaya Wilson, founder and CEO of the training service BetterCertify, cites a Catalyst study finding that Fortune 500 companies with a significant number of women on the board outperformed their peers, delivering 53% greater return on equity, 42% greater return on sales and 66% greater return on invested capital.

The impact goes beyond the bottom line. Wilson points to an American Psychological Association analysis showing that women leaders are more likely to adopt transformational leadership styles, boosting organizational performance and team alignment. “Team collaboration increases in a direct correlation to the number of women present in the group,” she said.

“Cutting back on DEI will hurt [companies’] profitability in the long run.”
Hunter Johnson
founder and CEO, Xpedition

The headlines may be bleak, but Soledad remains optimistic.

“In my personal conversations with executives and board members, the majority of those who have made big commitments aren’t pulling things back,” she said. “We’ve seen a lot of extreme headlines about companies walking away from DEI, but when you look at the details, most companies are making specific adjustments in their approach.”

The same goes for George Rogers, chief culture officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory. “While the current campaign against DEI could have short-term adverse effects on leadership representation, history suggests that the pendulum will likely swing back as organizations recognize the long-term benefits of inclusive practices,” he said.

Generational differences in attitudes would portend they’re right. As Johnson put it, “The data shows that customers are more diverse than ever before and that younger customers want diversity at every level, especially where decisions are being made — and that includes the boardroom.”