A diverse board? Yes please. Yet, the CEO remains white and (usually) a man

Headhunters have seen an increased demand for bicultural directors and supervisors. This is a promising trend, however, it still does not always lead to more diversity at the top. ‘A small group of people that bring diversity are getting passed around – this does not increase the numbers.’

Headhunters notice it all: housing corporations, healthcare institutions, banks, schools – organisations that have a lot to do with diverse societal groups are mainly the ones looking for more cultural diversity at the top. A lot of other employers are still working hard to improve their gender balance, but the aforementioned organisations have a higher standard when it comes to diversity. 

‘The board often looks for diversity and inclusivity’, says Newpeople’s Lorraine Koevoets. Newpeople is a company that, amongst other things, focuses on companies looking to modernise and companies experiencing digital growth.

A rebellious outlook

‘We’ll put forward a candidate that brings those things, yet after a year it turns out that nothing remains of her rebellious outlook because she doesn’t get taken seriously. This is because the rest of the board still works with the old system. This means there is not an inclusive culture. And then it doesn’t work’, says Koevoets. In an attempt to make increasing diversity more successful, the company is organising meetings to help board members and supervisors with this. 

Read the full article on FD.nl (in Dutch).