Illinois Corporate Board Diversity Report 2021
Richard Benton and Eunmi Mun from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have published the latest Illinois Corporate Board Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation Report 2021. As in previous years, Denominator provided benchmarking data for this report.
DEI Transparency Drives Improvement
Initial evidence suggests that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) improves with DEI transparency. Enhancing gender and race/ethnicity representation among corporate leaders and boards of directors has become a key priority for firms, shareholders, and other stakeholders.
The Impact of Illinois Public Act 101-0589
Illinois Public Act 101-0589, enacted in 2019, requires public corporations to report the gender and race/ethnicity composition of their board members. The latest report indicates that this transparency requirement is making a measurable impact.
- In 2021, 80% of companies reported having two or more female directors, up from 67% in 2020.
- 50% of companies reported two or more non-white directors, compared to 35% in 2020.
These significant year-over-year increases demonstrate how standardized transparency can drive positive DEI progress.
The Role of Data in Advancing DEI
At Denominator, we believe that standardized and quantifiable DEI transparency is essential for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion across companies and industries. The findings of this report reinforce our commitment to data-driven DEI insights.
Encouraging Further Research and Transparency
We are pleased to see our data being used in impactful research and encourage more studies and transparency initiatives in this area. If you are interested in how our data can support research projects, please reach out at info@denominator.one.
Read the Full Report
For more details, you can access the full Illinois Corporate Board Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation Report 2021 here and the Chicago Sun-Times article here.
