Latinos remain underrepresented on Fortune 1000 Boards [REPORT]

Despite increasingly loud calls for improved diversity on boards, U.S. Latino directors hold only 3.7 percent of Fortune 1000 board seats, according to new findings from Latino Representation on Fortune 1000 Boards, 2022 edition. Since the first report was released in 2019, the number of boards with a Latino director has increased by only 1 percentage point.

Diversity of background, experience, and skills are important to rich boardroom conversations and decision-making.

“Investors and shareholders are looking for boardrooms that reflect America’s diverse marketplace,” said Susan Angele, a board member of the Latino Corporate Directors Education Foundation (LCDEF) and a senior advisor to the KPMG Board Leadership Center. “There is a strong and growing pool of qualified Latina and Latino candidates with expansive business experience who are ready and willing to contribute in the boardroom but progress has been slow.”

The importance of the Latino community to the U.S. economy cannot be overstated. In the U.S., Latinos comprise 18.9 percent of the total population and are expected to grow to 28 percent by 2060. In addition, Latino consumers contributed $2.7 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2019. From 2010 to 2019, Latino GDP grew 57 percent faster than the broader U.S. economy.

The third annual study conducted by Latino Corporate Directors Association and KPMG measures Latino representation on boards by industry, states in which companies are headquartered, gender, age, and board and committee service.

Findings by Industry:

• The food, beverages, and tobacco industries continue to have the highest percentage of companies with at least one Latino director, as well as the highest percentage of Latinos on their boards.
• Over 75% of companies in Technology, Healthcare, and Industrials do not have a Latino board member

Findings by State:

• Latinos hold only 4 percent of board seats for companies headquartered in Texas and California, despite the populations of each of those states being nearly 40 percent Latino.
• In Florida, where 26 percent of residents are Latino, Latinos hold 6 percent of public Fortune 1000 board seats.

To download report, CLICK HERE.