Abstract:
The project was commissioned by the Government Equalities Office in order to
examine the issue of diversity on boards of directors in the private and public
sectors.The project addresses two main questions: Why are there so few women and
other under-represented groups on public and private sector boards? and What is
being done in order to increase diversity on boards? The report is published in
two parts: Part I considered the available evidence on diversity on boards. It
examined academic and non-academic literature in the field, in the UK and
internationally, and reviewed available evidence concerning the factors
accounting for the absence of diversity on boards.This second part maps out
current practices aimed at increasing board diversity. It is based on interviews
with several international experts in the field, giving case studies of various
initiatives in four country contexts (UK, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands). In
drawing together the report’s conclusion, some recommendations are formulated
for further action to increase board diversity in the U
