Boards Are Adding More Women and Minorities Ahead of Nasdaq Rule (3)

The pressure is on for boards to diversify, and it’s working.

Since last June, 145 S&P 500 companies have added at least one Black director, a “brisk” pace compared to past years, according to recruiter Russell Reynolds Associates. Latino board appointments at public companies quadrupled from a year ago, and women, for the first time, hold almost a third of all seats on the S&P 500. Only one major U.S. initial public offering debuted with an all-male board last year.

“Ninety plus percent of every board search that we’ve been asked to execute in the last nine months ...