Increasing the Board Diversity of Health Care Companies Could Impact Racial Disparities in Health Outcomes

Abstract

In the past few years, there has been much discussion around the need to increase diversity  among corporate boards.  This idea is not new, as the call to add gender and racial diversity to corporate boards started after the Civil Rights Movement.  In the first two parts of this paper, I will review the reasons why diversity is needed and provide historical and current data on the status of diversity on corporate boards.  While some gains have been made over the past three decades, particularly regarding gender diversity on corporate boards, boards have not yet reached gender and racial parity among board members.  The ramifications of homogenous corporate boards are well-documented and long-reaching.  So much so that the call for diversity among corporate boards is coming from every conceivable direction.  Later in this paper, I will give a snapshot of the current societal discontentment with the state of corporate boards by providing statistical data on how boards look today and a summary of recent efforts to increase diversity from institutional investors, state and federal legislators, and, federal regulators.