This year’s Golden Globes ceremony saw a continuation of last year’s Oscars awards show recognizing Asian talent with handing out statues to several actors from the Asian community. Sadly, we do not see the same recognition in leadership levels in other industries!
A headline in May 2020 read “Moving up: Increasing Asian-American representation on corporate boards.”. While there has been an increase in representation, Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders (AAPI) still only account for 4.4% of board seats in Fortune 500 companies according to Heidrick & Struggles US Board Monitor. This makes AAPI together with Hispanics & Latinos one of the least represented ethnic groups on boards. Unfortunately, this number is consistent with the composition of non-profit boards. According to Board Source’s “Leading with Intent” report only 4% of board members on non-profit boards identify as AAPI.
These numbers are even more surprising considering that in 2020, people identifying as AAPI made up 12% of the U.S. workforce -a number that will significantly grow in the future. Based on these disparate numbers, it is clear more work needs to be done. It starts with boards gaining an understanding of how bias influences representation and being intentional about the relationships they are building to shore up representation. It also means creating an environment where board members have a sense of belonging. Given the Pew Center’s estimates that the AAPI population in the US is expected double by 2060 and reach 46 million, time is of the essence for boards to begin taking steps today if they want to truly reflect society.
Firstly, boards ought to conduct a board audit and competency audit on a regular basis to capture the diversity presence or absence. We have developed a helpful short quiz to assist in this process.
Next, boards must adopt a more transparent and equitable recruitment & succession process. We have created a platform to assist organizations to publish their board vacancies and for individuals to find board appointments.
Board development needs to be made a priority. Boards who want to become more aware about their board diversity, board recruitment, onboarding best practices as well as accountability can schedule an introductory appointment here: info@designation.one