The complexities and challenges faced by organizations and businesses require boards to have a broad set of competencies as their main resource. Board members with diverse backgrounds provide the depth of understanding, multiple perspectives and extensive experience required for productive discussions that result in well-rounded choices.
However many boards struggle to transition from “nice to have” to being a requirement. Most often, discussions about diversity in boardrooms centers on ethnicity and social class and gender but the discussion needs to move beyond these categories to include a variety of backgrounds, skills and experiences.
To achieve a diverse board, you need dedication and a shift in thinking. Some trustees aren’t comfortable with the challenge of rethinking their legacy procedures, like the https://affordableboard.com/is-your-board-diverse/ tendency for nominating committees to look in the same areas for new members. Boards can increase their diversity by broadening their search horizons and including diverse communities. They can also find candidates with specialized expertise in particular areas that the business is most in need of (for example, an organization focusing on marketing may require candidates with geopolitical knowledge, or an international company might require directors with expertise in geopolitics), as well as establishing relationships before the need arises with historically underrepresented candidates.
Trustees who are more inclusive board culture declare that having the right mixture of social and professional diversities ensures that there is a sense of community on the board that is inclusive of all viewpoints. They state that a diverse board is better equipped to comprehend the complex issues that confront their company and the needs of their stakeholders and customers.