Gender Diversity Progresses Slowly
In 2018, 85% of large company boards across 44 countries had at least one woman among their directors. But women hold only 20.4% of all director seats, up from 13.6% six years ago.
(Source: Egon Zehnder's 2018 Global Board Diversity Tracker)
Directors Are Talking Environment
With high-impact weather events on the rise, natural resource scarcity increasing and the other looming impacts of climate change, boards of directors are facing intense pressure from stakeholders to get more involved in environmental sustainability governance.
Environmental sustainability conversations are happening among directors, and the discussions are expected to increase.
(Source: Diligent Institute's “Winds of Change: Environmental Sustainability Rises to the Board Level,” which surveyed 447 directors, executives and subject matter experts.)
Powwows with the CIO Can Be Productive
An increase in dialogue between CIOs and directors “can lead to a more balanced mix of conversations about both risk and strategic opportunities.”
(Source: Deloitte's CIO Guide to Engaging the Board)
Too Focused on Management's Views?
In 2018, directors spent nearly twice as much time reviewing materials from management as they allocated to reviewing relevant information from external sources, revealing a heavy dependence on management views and analysis in fulfilling their oversight duties. However, 53% of directors indicate that the quality of management reporting to the board must improve, suggesting that boards need better — not more — information from management.