November 11, 2022
Acknowledging Veterans’ Unique Perspectives: Disclosures on the Rise
Thank you to all of the members of our military – and their family members – for your service & sacrifice for our country. While we are mindful of your contributions every day, they are particularly front-of-mind each year on Veterans Day.
More & more companies are also recognizing veteran status as an element of diversity. In its recently published 2022 Board Index, Spencer Stuart found that 72% of new directors who joined S&P 500 boards in 2022 were from historically underrepresented groups and that 18% of the incoming class was below age 50. Spencer Stuart also observed that disclosure of more expansive “diversity” dimensions are becoming more common for S&P 500 boards. Here’s an excerpt with more detail:
– Seventy-four boards (15%) included LGBTQ+ disclosure in their proxy statement, more than twice as many as in 2021 (32 boards, 6%). This year, 29 boards (6%) identified the LGBTQ+ status of individual directors. On these boards, a total of 45 LGBTQ+ directors were disclosed: 27 unnamed and 18 named, more than three times the number who were named in 2021 (5).
– Twenty-two boards disclosed having a military veteran on their board, up from three in 2021.
– One board disclosed having a director with disabilities.
A search of Form 10-Ks on Edgar also shows that companies are incorporating veteran recruitment as part of DEI programs, and reflecting that in human capital management disclosure. Here’s an example from page 13 of C3.ai’s latest Form 10-K:
Our talent acquisition team engages various constituency groups to recruit qualified under-represented minorities, women, and military veterans to job opportunities. We host tech talks and workshops at top universities across the nation with the Women in Computer Science Associations, the Society of Women in Engineering, the Society of Latinx Engineers, and the Society of Black Engineers. We joined with BreakLine to help support hiring military veterans. Our goal is to find and recruit the best talent in the world.
Whether the service members in your life are continuing a military career or have gone on to join the corporate workforce, please take time today to honor & celebrate them.
– Liz Dunshee