The Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) has launched the California Boardroom Equity Scorecard and Tracker in a bid to push more companies in California to increase the number of Latinos on their boards.
It’s the “first-of-its-kind” and only publicly available tool that tracks the number of Latino/as on public company boards in California. It will report the progress of over 650 California public companies and their board composition on a quarterly basis. It will also provide the transparency needed to hold California public companies accountable for the inclusion of Latinos in the boardroom, confirmed LCDA.
The Scorecard currently indicates that Latinos represent just 2.1% on California boards, despite the fact that Hispanics represent nearly 40% of the population in the State. However, White/Caucasians comprise 84% of board seats, Asian/Pacific Islanders hold 9.7%, and Blacks/African Americans have 2.9% of boardroom seats.
ALARMING STATISTICS
Even more alarming, new appointment trends reveal that Latinos on boards are continuing to lag behind. Recent LCDA analysis reveals that 37% of California companies still have all-White boards of directors. “In California, where nearly 40% of the population is Latino, it is shocking to learn that 86% of California public company boards headquartered in the state lack a Latino or Latina,” said California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo. “California is home to over 15 million Latinos, including 800,000 Latino business owners, with purchasing power of $320 billion annually. Corporations must do better.”
LCDA’s exclusive tracker provides stakeholders and stockholders with information about the state of Latino/a composition on California corporate boards. Currently, the tracker shows that only 14% of California’s public companies have Latinos on their boards.
One of those is HP Inc. “We made a commitment to board diversity and today have the most diverse board in the US technology sector,” stated Enrique Lores, CEO, HP Inc. “Our company and stakeholders benefit from Latinx board leadership and we applaud the efforts of LCDA to connect companies with top Latinx talent.”
SUPPLY ‘NOT THE ISSUE’
Supply is not the issue, confirmed LCDA. “Despite a strong qualified pool, Latinos are the least represented at the executive level and on the boards of California public companies. The Latino Voices initiative will target and engage with US public companies with the goal of connecting them to Latino talent,” commented Esther Aguilera, LCDA CEO. “In response to the new California law, AB 979, Latino Voices will focus initial outreach to California companies that profit from the Latino population, but lack Latino representation on their boards.”
LCDA launched Latino Voices for Boardroom Equity in partnership with a growing list of national Latinos organisations including League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), UnidosUS, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), and the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), this September, as reported.
HISPANICS ECONOMIC ENGINE OF US
“The US Latino community accounts for 18.5% of the nation’s population or 61 million, with projected growth, on average, of 1.2 million per year between 2017 and 2060. US Latino consumers are the economic engine of the country, commanding $2.6 trillion GDP and driving consumption growth in every mass consumer category. Companies who want to attract Latino consumers, need to have a Latino on their board,” stated Roel Campos, LCDA Board Chair and former SEC Commissioner.
LCDA has partnered with Equilar to monitor and report on the number of Latinos and other underrepresented groups on corporate boards. The quarterly Scorecard will report the number of diverse directors appointed to California public companies and provide overall board composition by ethnicity and race, as well as, a list of companies that lack Latinos on their board.
The Tracker will allow users to search by company name, company headquarters location, and the number of Latino/as on each board. This information will allow Latinos and other underrepresented groups to gauge the progress of their representation on California company boards.
Recently, LCDA challenged Corporate America to triple Latino representation on their boards by 2023. Read more here.
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