Gender Diversity Grows, Racial/Ethnic Diversity Has Not.

• Position: BOARDBOOK: WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA?

The COVID-19 pandemic, including its widespread, multidimensional impacts and acceleration of changes and risks, is casting a spotlight on corporate resiliency. It is also challenging recent company commitments to stakeholder capitalism, driving attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, and reshaping areas of corporate and investor focus. EY released a report examining, among other issues, gender diversity and the growing push to eradicate systemic racism.

Close to half of the boards of S&P 1500 companies now have three or more women, almost doubling the percentage that did so three years ago. At the same time, all-male boards have nearly disappeared. A more dramatic shift is under way across the S&P 500, where all boards now have at least one woman and two-thirds have at least three women.

Half of Fortune 100 companies are disclosing their boards' racial/ethnic diversity this year, up from 24% in 2017. More boards are also disclosing their aggregated diversity, combining diversity across gender, race, ethnicity and sometimes other identity categories to provide an overall percentage of "diverse" directors. This year, 40% of the Fortune 100 disclosed the level of overall diversity on the...