The Five Inclusive Behaviors Board Chairs Overlook
Boards have made strides in diversifying membership — but despite good intentions, they often fail to surface new or different points of view.
Jennifer Jordan and N. AnandAugust 19, 2026Reading Time: 13 min
Summary:
Many companies have made efforts to diversify membership in their board of directors to include members of traditionally underrepresented ...
Listen to “The Five Inclusive Behaviors Board Chairs Overlook” (19:21)
Many companies around the world have made significant progress in adding a higher proportion of board directors from traditionally underrepresented groups, such as women and people of color. But despite the increased diversity, many boards lag on inclusivity — that is, ensuring that diverse voices are actually heard and that all board members are able to contribute to decision-making.
In our interviews with more than 25 board and committee chairs and 20 nonchair board members, a contradiction emerged: Chairs overwhelmingly...
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