A MIXED BAG FOR WOMEN DIRECTORS: But a "name game" reveals major progress for women in the C-suite.

• Author: Hayes, Bill
• Position: DIRECTORS to Watch: 2023 ANNUAL REPORT EDITION: GENDER DIVERSITY

For all of the momentous events of 2023 so far, one thing the year will certainly be known for is that, according to Bloomberg, more S&P 500 companies are being run by women than by men named John.

But more on that in a second. First, let's take a look at the fourth quarter 2022 key findings of 50/50 Women on Boards' Gender Diversity Index, which offers us a snapshot of gender composition of corporate boards on the Russell 3000 Index and therefore a general picture of the progress being made by women as they seek to grow their number on public company boards.

The report found 28.4% of corporate board seats on the Russell 3000 were held by women as of Dec. 31, 2022. The percentage ranks as a small increase from the previous quarter (0.2%) and a 1.7% rise from the previous year. These numbers are not even that rosy when you look strictly at public company boards. In the fourth quarter of 2022, 36% of the directors joining public boards were women--down from 2021's figure of more than 40%.

The percentage of gender-balanced boards sits at just 11% and is dropping slightly, with 313 Russell companies having an equal number of men and women on their boards in Q4 2022 compared with 311 in Q3 2022. Forty-four percent of the boards had three or more women, just a slight increase from 1,267 in Q3 2022 to 1,285 in Q4 2022. The numbers are moving in a positive direction when it comes to Russell 3000 boards. Forty-five percent of those companies have two or fewer women directors, and just 2% of Russell 3000 companies lack any women on their boards.

As for women of color, they hold 7% of the seats on the Russell 3000, with Black women claiming 3% and Asian-Pacific Islanders sitting at just over 2%. Just 1% of boards...