Corporate boardroom diversity sinks to lowest in more than a decade: Analysis

Business Corporate boardroom diversity sinks to lowest in more than a decade: Analysis Comments: by Mira Bhakta - 07/28/26 5:26 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Mira Bhakta - 07/28/26 5:26 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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A new analysis released Tuesday shows corporate boardroom diversity among S&P 500 companies has dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade.

The analysis from global advisory search firm Spencer Stuart found that diverse board appointments among S&P 500 companies have been on the decline since 2021 when it peaked at 72 percent. It also found that fewer new directors are joining boardrooms than at any time since 2026.

Today, diverse directors hold 49.3% of the seats, slightly down from a record of 49.6% in 2024 , according to Spencer Stuart.

Spencer Stuart’s George Anderson told Reuters that boards are responding to changing legal, regulatory and political pressure.

A landmark 2023 Supreme Court case that ruled it was illegal to consider race in college admissions and sustained attacks from the Trump administration against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives led many companies to abandon DEI initiatives. A March White House fact sheet stated DEI initiatives are “racially discriminatory” and imposed “real costs on the American people.”

President Trump’s executive order on DEI initiatives called them “illegal” and stated they “not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity” and “American values.”

Companies – including Meta, Google and some Wall Street banks – abandoned DEI initiatives in the wake of Trump administration attacks.

Other companies have taken a different approach, such as Costco, which rejected demands from the National Center for Public Policy Research to report the risks of maintaining its DEI policies.

“We believe that these efforts enhance our capacity to attract and retain employees who will help our business succeed,” the company said in a statement about the proposal, urging shareholders to vote against it.

The Spencer Stuart analysis was conducted on data collected between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. The data included draws on the latest proxy statements from 488 companies.

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