Although the population of the United States is becoming increasingly diverse, data on the composition of nonprofit boards nationally indicate a persistent pattern of under-representation of minority groups. This exploratory study was conducted in a large metropolitan area with a diverse population. The research investigated board diversity with a small sample of leaders of nonprofit organizations and current or prospective board members from under-represented groups. Data were collected from nonprofit leaders by an anonymous web-based survey and from board members by telephone interview. The research found that all the nonprofit organizations in the study served client groups that were racially and ethnically diverse. The majority of survey respondents felt that having a diverse board was important, and the lack of board diversity was a source of dissatisfaction. Overall board recruitment was reported to be difficult. The most frequent sources of new board members were referrals from current board members and personal networks. Typically, the nonprofit organizations in this study did not allocate financial resources to build board diversity. Interview participants identified the value of recruitment strategies that would expand the pool of potential board members. Other recommendations included increased attention to the process of board entry for new board members. In conclusion, it appears that building more diverse boards will require sustained efforts, but that the changes necessary to successfully include people from different cultural backgrounds will also strengthen nonprofit organizations.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / This research examined whether an improved participation of women in the board of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) firms has any relationship with sustainability disclosure. Accordingly, the objective of this research was to examine the relationship between the number of women on the board and environmental, social and gender-employment disclosure in South African firms. The research applied a purposive sampling design to study the nine best socially responsible investing firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and secondary data were collected from the sustainability reports of the firms. Using a quantitative approach, the panel-data regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between women on the board of directors, environmental, social and gender employment disclosure. Energy consumption disclosure, social investment and the number of women employment in the firms were the proxy for environmental disclosure, social investment and gender employment disclosures respectively. Findings show a positive relationship between the number of women on the board of directors and firm disclosure on energy consumption, disclosure on women employment and social investment disclosure. However, the number of women employed in the corporate is still very low in comparison with the male counterparts. The research recommends that, given the unique social and environmental sensitivity of women, the corporate should recruit more women onto the boards to enhance accelerated corporate sustainability performance and disclosures. Key words: sustainability disclosure, women in the board, sustainability performance, energy disclosure, sustainable development