Men, Women on Corporate Boards Split on Diversity

Men and women who serve on corporate boards of directors worldwide frequently agree on political and economic issues that impact business but they have widely divergent ideas on how to improve diversity in their own board rooms.

Those are among the findings of a survey that polled more than 1,000 directors on issues ranging from environmental regulations to diversity quotas.

The survey was conducted from April through June by researchers at the Harvard Business School, executive search and consulting firm Heidrick & Struggles, and networking organization WomenCorporateDirectors. Those surveyed included 1,067 corporate directors from 58 countries.

“There’s significant disagreement between men and women on issues related to diversity on boards,” said Boris Groysberg, professor of business administration at Harvard and one of the participants in a Thursday teleconference to discuss the survey results.

“For men, board leadership is tied with the pipeline explanation,” which tracks a lack of women on boards to mentoring and advocating for females in executive positions, he said.

Read how women view diversity on corporate boards here.