Washington — Business Roundtable CEOs today announced that they are putting diversity front and center in their search for boards of directors to help lead their companies.
The new emphasis, which will be underscored in the forthcoming update to the Business Roundtable guiding Principles of Corporate Governance, affirms:
“Similar to our efforts to promote diversity among our management ranks, diverse backgrounds and experiences on corporate boards, including those of directors who represent the broad diversity of American society, strengthen the performance of a board of directors and promote the creation of long-term shareholder value.“Business Roundtable CEOs believe that boards of directors should develop a framework for identifying appropriately diverse candidates that asks the nominating or governance committee to consider women and/or minority candidates for each open board seat.”
The Business Roundtable Principles of Corporate Governance set the standard for best practices in effective, ethical corporate governance.
“U.S. companies can drive more growth when they are guided by boards that are diverse in backgrounds, perspective and experience,” said John Hayes, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ball Corporation, and Chair of the Business Roundtable Corporate Governance Committee.“However, despite recent progress, the diversity of corporate boardrooms is underrepresented relative to the diversity of the general population. More can and should be done to bring more women and minorities into America’s boardrooms.”
Click here to read Hayes’s op-ed on Medium, which further details the Business Roundtable commitment to improving diversity in the boardroom.
To learn more about the Business Roundtable solutions to expand job creation and grow the U.S. economy, visit: brt.org/growth.