Greater diversity in gender and racial make-up in Board candidate recruitment would help restore investor trust. Why?  Here are a few reasons:

1.  The population of investors, shareholders and consumers in this country are significantly more diverse than corporate Boards. The trend is towards greater diversity. Greater diversity of Board membership, therefore, translates into greater public trust.

2.  The demand on time due to the increased involvement by Board Members in corporate governance means that multiple Board service is no longer a perk but hard work. Many current Board members may choose not to renew certain of their Board memberships because either they cannot give the time needed to serve in a responsible manner or they may just want to lower their legal liability exposure. This creates an opportunity for Boards to consider the candidacy of highly qualified and hardworking minority and women candidates who had been previously passed over by Board recruiters because of the lack of prior Board service experience -- a talent pool that can now be tapped into for the benefit of the corporation!

3.  The different experiences and perspectives of minority and women Board candidates  will enhance a Board's ability to tackle fast-evolving corporate operational issues that impact stock value and investor confidence.  It will also better address the complexity of executive accountability in a professional manner. The focus will remain on improvement of Board governance and on accountability of upper-level corporate management (from recruitment to record-keeping to financial transparency) rather than resorting to a blame game and finger pointing.

By Sue Ghosh, as printed in the Wall Street Journal, June 2002

(Sue is a regulatory and corporate attorney, a member of the District Columbia Bar and the District of Columbia Superior Court. Sue has dealt with numerous corporate governance issues including director liability and conflict of interest over the past 15 years.)