Minorities Fill More Board Seats; Follow Lead Of Women

Ethnic minority directors captured more seats on corporate boards last year and now have a presence in 60% of America's boardrooms, according to New York-based Korn/Ferry International, an executive search firm. "Ethnic minority directors are gaining ground, and we expect this trend to continue as more and more companies recognize the value of their insights and contributions," reports Craig L. Fuller, chairman of Korn/Ferry International's global board services practice. "In the past 10 years, women made giant strides in numbers of corporate board seats. Now we are seeing similar gains by ethnic minorities who are narrowing the gap with women." Pharmaceutical companies are the leaders in both women and minority directors. Ninety-three percent of these companies have at least one woman on the board, and 71% have at least one minority director. America's largest companies -- with at least $20 billion in annual revenue -- also report a larger concentration of women and minority directors than average -- 95% and 82%, respectively. The 1999 Korn/Ferry International Annual Board of Directors Study analyzed proxy information from more than 900 of the largest U.S. corporations.