Posted on 05/12/2005 10:50:55 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
Los Angeles, May 12 U.S. corporate boards severely lack diversity, and companies "recycle" Hispanic and African-American directors, hiring them on multiple boards, a new study showed on Wednesday.
White men hold 71 percent of seats on Fortune 100 boards, the Alliance of Board Diversity said in its report based on directors holding seats last September.
Women and minorities collectively account for 29 percent of seats, with minorities holding 15 percent, the group said.
Carolyn Chin, a director of the Chinese American group Committee of 100, which worked with the Alliance, called the record "pathetic" for corporate America but said that signs pointed to change.
"With all the scandals and Sarbanes-Oxley (corporate accountability law), the fact that board members are aging, there is going to be a big move away from what we call male, pale, stale," Chin said in an interview commenting on the report.
There is even a lack of diversity among the individual minority members of boards: many work for more than one company. African American men hold an average of 1.6 board seats per person and Hispanic men hold 1.3 seats, compared with the average for all directors of 1.2.
Asian-Americans, by contrast, have the lowest representation, at 1.1 percent of board seats, but are not "recycled".
"Evolution is a slow process." said Ilene Lang, president of advisory group Catalyst, which advocates on behalf of women in the work place. Catalyst, Executive Leadership Council, an African-American group, and the Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility make up the Alliance for Board Diversity.
I think a class action lawsuit should be filed againtst the NBA for oppressive discrimination against dwarfs, midgets and other vertically-challenged people.
"God must think differently. I mean, we're all here, aren't we? :-)"
Not what I meant. :) I am talking about institutions who force diversity. God put us here but He did not dictate that every community or occupation should have X amount of this race and X amount of that race. FORCED diversity is crippling, not enabling.
Yeah and Blacks are the predominant race in the NBA so what else is new.
Can you say Ford, GM, the old Chrysler.
No, white guys are 35%, white women 35%, minorities 30%.
High profile jobs are involve some level of public relations. Asians are not acceptable to the US population as a PR person because the US population will not stand for it.
Any position where you need to win a popularity contest, you can forget about hiring an Asian, because it just will not work.
Oh, and if you need to win a popularity contest in africa, japan, or france, you can forget about hiring an anglo.
It is human nature, it is the way it is.
The US did not pass the Chinese exclusion act just for the fun of it.
Top'n of the Asian bottom happens quite a bit in the sex trade in SE Asia...
oops they meant a different meaning for "Top"
You know, I buy that argument for lots of positions in the business world, but corporate boards? Who are we kidding. It's a very small circle of very wealthy people scratching each other's backs. Since it reflects who went to what school or served in what branch of the military 40 years ago when they formed their friendships, it's going to be a lagging indicator.
No one's going to tell me that board members are chosen by passing an aptitude test. You need skill to get to a certain level, but above that, it's who you know.
That said, corporate boards have embraced affirmative action. You won't find a corporate board that doesn't have at least one African-American and one woman. It's getting beyond that number which is rarer.
The token slots these whiners are carping about are usually reserved for "independent board members" (read: people who can be trusted to show-up, shut-up and stay out of the way).
SOOOOOOOOO true...we must have had the same business entities professor, because he said almost the same verbatum sentence.
I'm sorry if my post seemed to be "picking on" you--I didn't intend for it to be that way.
I guess my point was I think diversity in itself (as created by God) is a good thing, but we humans have messed up the concept quite a bit.
I *completely* agree with you that it's wrong for human institutions to force diversity.
There is truth in your post.
Asians are smart enough to avoid this old boys club and start their own businesses.
So this slant-eyed, flat-faced b*tch can get away with making a racist statement like that?
"I guess my point was I think diversity in itself (as created by God) is a good thing, but we humans have messed up the concept quite a bit."
I'd have to agree. Diversity is obviously natural since God made us different. It's a natural thing that should and will happen naturally in man-made institutions, not be intentionally forced nor impeded.
"White men hold 71 percent of seats"
It said, MEN; assuming that's correct.
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