73% of Fortune 1000 Companies Lack a Latino Board Member
Latinos make up only 3% of Fortune 1000 board seats—while comprising 18.5% of the U.S. population, according to a new report, Latino Representation on Fortune 1000 Boards, 2020 edition, sponsored by the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) and KPMG, LLP.
“Many boardrooms are missing out on Latino talent and inadvertently diluting earnings by not seeking LatinX directors for their boards. Latino purchasing power is growing 70% faster than non-Latino and companies who do not capitalize on this growth are losing market share. Boardroom diversity without Latinos is incomplete and bad business,” stated Roel Campos, LCDA Board Chair.
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The annual report is part of a growing partnership between the LCDA and KPMG. It measures 2020 Latino representation on Fortune 1000 boards by industry, and by the states in which companies are headquartered. It also researched the gender, age, board, and committee service of Latino directors.
Findings by Industry:
- Latinos are best represented on company boards in the food, beverage and tobacco industries, yet the total number of board seats held amounts to only 5%.
- 85% of companies in the technology industry do not have a Latino on their boards.
Findings by State:
- In both California and Texas, 39% of residents are Latino, yet only 3% of Fortune 1000 board seats of the companies based in each of those states are held by Latinos.
- The state with the highest prevalence of Latino directors is Florida, where 25% of residents are Latino, yet only 5% of Fortune 1000 board seats there are held by Latinos.
“The Latino community contributes $2.6 trillion – one quarter of U.S. GDP. Despite their economic might, Latino representation on corporate boards is staggeringly low and there has been no progress in the last decade by any measure,” said Jose R. Rodriguez, KPMG Partner and LCDA Board Member.
“Diversity of people, background, and skills have been shown to improve decision-making,” said Susan Angele, a member of the Latino Corporate Directors Education Foundation board and a senior advisor to the KPMG Board Leadership Center. “Our report found that nearly three-quarters of Fortune 1000 corporate boards do not have the benefit of a Latino perspective.”
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“The LCDA is part of the solution, bringing together some of the most respected and accomplished leaders in business and there is a strong and growing pool of qualified Latina and Latino candidates with expansive business experience ready to contribute in the boardroom,” said Esther Aguilera, resident and CEO.
In 2020, LCDA released an online tool, LatinoBoardTracker.org, that tracks Latino representation on Fortune 1000 boards. The tool was designed to raise awareness of the underrepresentation of Latinos on the boards of America’s largest companies.
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