Diversifying Companies From the Top Down

Look at the boards of directors leading America’s major corporations. Most of their members are white men 60 or older.

But “that doesn’t represent employee or customer base,” said S. Irene Matz, who is heading the new California Corporate Board Registry, an effort to match women and minority candidates with corporations that want to diversify their boards. Matz is on the faculty at Cal State Fullerton, which was chosen by the state to handle the project.

“The registry will target visionary companies who know that they have to be progressive and dynamic,” Matz said. “According to several recent surveys, less than 15% of the board seats in the Standard & Poor’s 500 are held by women. Less than half of the Fortune 500 companies have a woman or minority member on their boards of directors.”

Matz added that marketing the registry is her first priority--especially because a lack of marketing was cited as one of the reasons Wisconsin suspended a similar program last year.

The registry has a Web page, linked with other pages such as the governor’s office, and will offer courses on board membership, Matz said.

“And not a textbook curriculum,” she said. “We’re asking heads of companies and board members what they’re looking for, because we want this position to be value-added, not just a token placement.”

She also hopes some Cal State students will be asked to create marketing plans. Corporations will be charged a one-time fee of $500 to search the registry, while individuals will be charged $200 to be listed on it for two years.

An advisory board, which includes Long Beach police Deputy Chief Anthony William Batts, KNBC-TV “Today in L.A.” co-anchor Kathy Vara and Orange County Transportation Authority Chief Executive Lisa Mills will review the project periodically.

“I look at this as an opportunity to be involved with an organization that recognizes the value of placing women and minorities on corporate boards,” Mills said. “The real test of this program will be the number of corporations that sign up and use this service over the next year.”

Details are available by calling (714) 278-4614 or through https://www.fullerton.edu/calregistry.