The research is clear – diverse boards and leadership teams improve business results, reduce risk, and increase employee retention and productivity. Institutional and personal investors, stock exchanges here and abroad, US states and European countries are also choosing to invest in companies with both racial and gender diversity on their boards.
The Women’s Leadership Foundation is an active supporter of boards, CEOs, and investors to provide highly qualified women as board candidates, to prepare executive women with the skills to become successful board leaders, and to improve transparent best practices board governance. We align with all of the stakeholders that recognize the research, seek the benefits of board diversity, and advocate for standard, transparent reporting. We are collaborators and partners for public and private sector leaders to improve Colorado’s boards, financial results and to achieve desired governance objectives.
With this active support, Colorado companies have improved board diversity, so the state is now an “average” state with 21% of women holding board seats in public companies in the state and 8 companies with gender balanced boards. We intend for Colorado to be a national leader in board diversity. WLF will continue to apply resources, information (Denver Post article, Feb. 25, 2021), and visibility to improve this “average” rating. We are encouraged by and commend Colorado public and private sector leaders who are committing to build strong diverse boards with the strategic skills they need to succeed. We are aligned with states and organizations that support our vision and we look to learn from national and international policies and progress, including regulations, to evaluate benefits from different approaches.