Daves

1 min read · January 24, 2025
New Power Labs

In 2022, a milestone was reached: for the first time, women of colour on US privately held company boards outnumbered directors named Dave or David (Shepherd, et al., 2023).

For context, there are approximately 68.3 million women of colour in the United States, compared to just 4.8 million men named Dave. 

The fact that it's taken women of colour this long to surpass "the Daves" in boardrooms is less a triumph and more a stark reminder of how far we have to go. 

When loud voices are noting the pendulum has swung too far, the data tells a very different story.

While women now hold 29.7% of board seats in Russell 3000 companies (3000 largest publicly held companies in the US), women of colour occupy 7.8%. The 2024 50/50 Women on Board Gender Diversity Index noted only 30.7% of the 587 new board positions are filled by women, the lowest percentage since 2017. At the current rate, gender parity and 20% representation for women of colour will be achieved by 2045. 

How do we maintain the current rate amidst the pushback?

Narinder

New Power Labs

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