Communications Industry Group Boards Remain Largely White Male Domains

In an era of the Me Too movement and Black Lives Matter, running the companies and institutions that dominate the communications universe largely remains a white male affair, according to our analysis of the board membership of major companies, trade and interest groups. Women hold 12% of board seats among broadcasters and 28% among MVPDs and programmers. People of color are harder to find on those boards: 6% at broadcasters, 28% at wireline and wireless operators.

Women are making what board governance consultant Annalisa Barrett told us are slow and steady inroads in corporate governance. Women had 23% of board seats of Russell 3000 companies as of Q2, per Equilar. That’s up from 20% a year earlier, and the trend line toward parity has been growing for nearly three straight years, it said. Russell 3000 boards without a woman were 6.6% in Q2, Equilar said.

Racial diversity is moving far more slowly. Racially and ethnically diverse board members now hold 16.8% of S&P 500 board seats, up from 13.6% at the end of 2016, said Institutional Shareholder Services.

The perception of what it takes to be a qualified board member is changing, said Barrett, Board Governance Research CEO. Traditionally, those were roles filled by current or retired CEOs of other publicly traded companies, which limited the pool to a small group, she said. With more focus on diversity, and as companies have decided sitting CEOs might not be ideal due to the time commitment and sometimes reputational risk, qualifications evolved and candidates come from a wider variety of career paths, she said. People who are vice presidents of divisions or those with technical expertise, such as chief technology officers or heads of human resources, are becoming more common, she said.

A Latino with self-described traditionally white features and a non-Hispanic name, Herb Scannell said he's "not often in on the discussions" for board diversification. The Southern California Public Radio CEO thinks "I bring a perspective that's unique." SCPR is a charter pledge partner of The Board Challenge, an effort to get more Black representation on boards, with pledge partners having at least one Black director. Scannell said discussions have gone on for years about the need for board diversity, but it was driven less by the perception that there's real value to the organization from such diversity and more about meeting particular expectations. Increasingly, there's recognition of that value, he said. There's growing recognition in organizations that beyond visible ethnicity, there's importance in diversity in such demographic traits as age, geography and profession, he said. "The more you can check off, the better you will be," he said.

Businesses increasingly are having diversity forced on their boards. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law in September a requirement that publicly held corporations headquartered there have, by the end of next year, at least one board member from an underrepresented community. The state already requires female representation. Pending before the SEC is a Nasdaq proposal to mandate that companies report board diversity statistics and that most companies listed on the exchange have at least two diverse directors or explain why they don't.

Industry Boards

Our analysis looked at more than 300 board members, tallying women and/or people of color. In some cases, a company was counted in more than one category -- for example, AT&T as both a wireless company and an MVPD and programmer. Numerous companies didn't comment.

Among trade and interest groups, women hold 25% of board seats -- a percentage skewed by the Satellite Industry Association, with 11 women on its 14-member board. People of color hold 13% of seats, with Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins on both the NAB and NCTA boards.

CTIA has three men of color and three white women on its 32-member board. “Combating inequality is a priority at CTIA," the group emailed. "We are in active conversation with our Board to find ways to foster greater levels of diversity and inclusivity.”

ACA Connects, with 24 board, associate or emeritus members, is chaired by a white woman, Boycom Vision President Patty Jo Boyers, and women have 33% of the seats. It has one minority member, Carla Framil-Ferran, Liberty Puerto Rico general counsel. There have been numerous women on the ACA board since its 1993 founding, but "we definitely believe in the need for more diversity and thank those who have served on our Board and broken the glass ceiling for many, many years," emailed CEO Matt Polka. He said ACA constantly evaluates potential board members and updates the board on candidates as seats become available. "Our Board Members generally come from our candidates list and through expressed interest by a potential Board Member. As we look ahead we are always looking for greater diversity in our Board and are committed to it," he said.

Seeking Diversity

NATOA's board has seven white men, two white women, two women of color and a man of color. It's made up of volunteer members who get nominated and voted on by the membership, emailed President Brian Roberts. "We seek to achieve diversity by inviting people of color and women to present in events and programming such as our conferences and webinars and by encouraging a diverse membership."

NAB, with one person of color and three women on its 12-person executive committee, emailed that it's "committed to fostering a strong and diverse workforce within our organization, on our board of directors and throughout the broadcast industry. We are working to advance diversity and inclusion at the station level and in the boardroom to reflect the communities we serve. Providing opportunities for diverse individuals to further their careers in broadcasting or become station owners will foster more diverse executive-level representation." It said hiring NAB Leadership Foundation President Michelle Duke as chief diversity officer earlier this year (see 2006180065) aims to make NAB a resource to member companies in efforts to increase industry diversity. And it said it's forming a board advisory committee with one objective of identifying and preparing broadcasters to sit on the board.

Among the biggest MVPDs and programmers, women hold 27% of board seats, people of color 17%. For wireless and wireline operators, women hold 19% of board seats, and people of color 28%.

AT&T, with a 14-person board, emailed it's "proud of the diversity of our board of directors, which includes three women and three people of color, including our incoming chairman.” One director, former BET Networks CEO Debra Lee, is both.

Among the largest station owners, directors of color have about 6% of board seats, and women 12%. Nexstar, with one woman on its nine-member board, said it's "actively engaged in identifying potential directors who will help broaden the diversity of our Board.” Sinclair, with no diversity on its board, and Gray, with one woman and one person of color on its nine-person board, didn't comment.