"I have been monitoring the degree of diversity in the corporate and political worlds for decades. One useful diversity metric is the percentage of boardroom members who are not white men. And for the third year in a row, white men did not hold the majority of seats on the boards of America's 50 largest corporations, according to my analysis of the most recent Fortune 500 list."
"Whereas about a decade ago, white men held two-thirds of the seats on the top 50 Fortune boards, in 2023, for the first time, they held fewer than 50%. In 2024, that number dropped to 48.4%, but this year it climbed back to 49.7%. Since white men make up about 31% of the U.S. population, they still have been very much overrepresented in all three years."
"As the percentage of seats held by white men rose from 2024 to 2025, however, the percentage held by white women dropped, from 25% to 24.5%. Other researchers found this same pattern for the entire Fortune 500. The percentage of seats held by Black people also dropped, from 15% to 14.2%, and likewise those held by Hispanic people, from 6.1% to 5.9%. Meanwhile, the percentage of seats held by Asian people rose slightly, from 5.6% to 5.7%."
Corporate boardrooms were historically mostly white and male, with diversification beginning in the 1970s partly from civil rights gains and pro‑diversity efforts. A key metric is the percentage of board members who are not white men. For the third straight year, white men did not hold a majority of seats on the boards of America’s 50 largest corporations, though their share rose from 48.4% in 2024 to 49.7% in 2025 after earlier declines. White men remain overrepresented relative to their roughly 31% share of the U.S. population. Shares held by white women, Black people, and Hispanic people fell, while Asian representation ticked up slightly.
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