Boards are becoming more diverse—but very slowly

Forty-five percent of new board appointments in 2021 went to women, who now make up 29% of Fortune 500 board members.  Fifty-nine percent of new board appointees were white, tied with 2020 for the lowest figure since 2009.

One board statistic isn’t changing, though, despite companies’ push to bring in new experience: Boards are just as old as they’ve ever been. The average age of a new board member in 2021 was 57, and the average age of board members was 64, both relatively unchanged since Heidrick began collecting data.

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