March 27, 2024 | less than a minute read

Increasing diversity at board level

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David Hunt

CEO & Founder

Get in touch

David Hunt

CEO & Founder

This article is almost a year old, but nothing much has seemed to change. With overwhelming evidence showing a diverse team, or board, brings significant economic advantage, let alone the myriad other benefits, why is change soooooooo slow?! Why do we see such a lack of diversity on boards in particular. The actual headline to this article is 'Startup boards are still a boys' club — 45% have no female representation.' And even where they exist, they are still very much the minority.

Change doesn't happen by itself, it needs effort, we need in the cleantech industry to do better (and all industries). At Hyperion Executive Search we are committed to bringing diverses shortlists to executive and non-executive roles. If your Board is ‘stale, make and pale’ (a phrase I heard at the recent Future of Utilities event I spoke at), then let us help you access a broader and more diverse talent pool.

instead of waiting around for things to change on a structural level, companies can bring in more diverse perspectives, experience and operational expertise to their boards by hiring a non-executive director (NED) — an independent board member typically recruited after Series A or B. “Female operators with domain expertise can make fantastic NEDs — to increase their representation on boards, we need more transparency around board work in general and more clarity on what the process of joining a board is like,” says Drinkwater. Companies looking to create career paths for women to get into senior positions also need to pay attention to recruitment.

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