Copyright American Society of Association Executives Jan 2002Organizations are experiencing increased pressure to "deepen and diversify their pool of board candidates," observes Catalyst, New York City, partly because of greater recognition that boards can "benefit from diverse perspectives, particularly in light of the challenges and opportunities posed by technology and globalization."
Action steps that Catalyst encourages organizations to take to increase board diversity include the following:
* Go beyond tokenism. "The full promise of diversity can only be realized if there is a critical mass of individuals with diverse perspectives."
* Commit to a diversification plan.
* Empower nominating committees to refine criteria and search processes.
* Appoint women and minorities to key board committees.
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