Around two-thirds of Fortune 1000 companies still lack Latino representation on their boards, revealed the latest report from Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), the leading organisation advancing Hispanic/Latino representation on US corporate boards.
Its 2022 Latino Board Monitor, highlighted a lack of US Hispanic/Latino representation on some of the largest company boards in the country. Latino directors are missing on 47% of Fortune 100 boards and 59% of Fortune 500 boards, while the Fortune 1000 fares worse with 65% of companies lacking the Hispanic/Latino perspective.
“In a country where the US Latino GDP is $2.7 trillion, and, over the past 2 years, has grown at double the rate of the broader US economy, companies need this perspective in their boardrooms. If companies want to grow and keep pace in this new mainstream economy, every board should immediately begin placing Latino(a)s on their board and in C-Suite positions… because we all know, no one wants to be seen as leaving money on the table,” stated Sol Trujillo, Founder & Chairman of Trujillo Group, LLC/Chairman of the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC)/Co-Founder of business conference L’ATTITUDE.
SLOW BOARD DIVERSITY PROGRESS
Just 53 Fortune 100 companies currently have Hispanic/Latino boardroom representation. Amazon, Exxon Mobil, UnitedHealth Group, Berkshire Hathaway, and AmerisourceBergen top the list of 47 Fortune 100 companies without Hispanic/Latinos on the board.
“A commitment to diversity and inclusion is incomplete without Latinos; 65% of Fortune 1000 boards have no Latino directors, even though two in 10 Americans are Latino. We contribute 25% of the country’s GDP and will contribute 78% of net new workers to the workforce during this decade. This has to change,” noted Elizabeth Oliver-Farrow, LCDA Board Chair; Director, Hispanic Communications Network LLC.
US Latinos are the second largest US population group totalling 62.1 million, yet have the widest representation gap to close in the boardroom. Progress is being made to diversify S&P 500 boardrooms with Black Americans holding 11% of total board seats and 26% of new appointments, and Asian Americans holding 6% of total board seats and 10% of new appointments. Still, Hispanic/Latinos continue to be the least tapped for board seats, holding a mere 5% of total board seats, and only 8% of new appointments.
AMPLE SUPPLY OF BOARD-QUALIFIED LATINOS
“The number of Latinos on boards is so small, and we keep hearing that organisations can’t find qualified candidates. With our growing LCDA network of members, we’ve proven there is an ample supply, and that excuse no longer applies. Despite this strong qualified pool, Latinos have long been systematically excluded and bypassed. This is unacceptable in 21st century America,” said Esther Aguilera, President and CEO of LCDA.
LCDA continues to work to change the misperception that Latino business leaders are hard to find by providing corporate boards with a trusted talent resource for experienced Latino board directors and executives primed for the boardroom. Its latest findings reveal that US Latino representation comprise 4.4% of Fortune 500 and 4.1% of Fortune 1000 boards. LCDA influenced a rapid rise in the last two years, versus the last decade. In the Fortune 500, Latino representation shifted from 0.7%, in a two-year span, compared to 1.1% over the last decade.
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Latinos occupied a meagre 3% of Fortune 1000 board seats last year, according to the Latino Corporate Directors Association and KPMG. Click here to continue reading.
Two years ago, LCDA challenged Corporate America to triple Latino representation on their boards by 2023. Click here to continue reading.
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