Why diverse corporate boardrooms drive equity, equality and performance

One of the clearest and most painful takeaways of the past several months is that racial injustice, much like gender inequality, remains a stain on our society—both in the United States and around the world. And one of the most important lessons that we should draw from this moment is that not being prejudiced ourselves is not enough. Each of us must also play an active role in fighting to eradicate systemic racism and standing up for equity and equality. 

When it comes to the role of the private sector, action needs to start at the top. For far too long, boardrooms have failed to reflect the diversity of the communities and customers their companies serve. While we’ve seen growing numbers of women joining corporate boards in recent years, corporate America is a long way from gender parity—and racial and ethnic diversity has remained relatively flat. It’s long past time that we change this.

That’s why I’m proud that Kim Rivera, HP’s President of Strategy & Business Management and Chief Legal Officer, today appeared before the California Senate and offered our company’s wholehearted support for a bill authored by Assembly member Chris Holden that will encourage the state to lead the nation in bringing underrepresented communities to corporate boards.

It’s an important piece of legislation. I urge the legislature to adopt it and Governor Newsom to sign it into law. But we shouldn’t have to rely on the Governor’s pen to make our boards more diverse. Business leaders should be doing that on our own.

This isn’t just the right thing to do. Study after study has shown how gender and ethnic diversity can help power innovation and strengthen a company’s performance. For example, McKinsey has found that companies with more women and more ethnic diversity at the executive level are more profitable, and they’ve also found that companies with more diverse boardrooms enjoy significantly higher earnings and returns on equity.

All of this has informed our approach at HP. When our company was established following the separation Hewlett Packard Company in 2015, we had the unique opportunity to build a Board of Directors from scratch—and we made it our mission to form the most diverse board in the technology industry. Today, the HP board is comprised of 58% minorities and 42% women. 

Of course, building a more diverse board is just a start. Business leaders need to closely examine all aspects of their organizations—from the C-Suite to the frontline, to the partners they are collaborating with, and the supply chains they depend on—to make sure their companies and operations reflect the markets and communities they serve.

At HP, we are making important progress. Last year, 40% of our new hires globally were women. In the United States, 63% of our hires were from underrepresented groups. And in June, we set a goal of doubling our number of Black and African American executives by 2025.  

Yet, we also know we have a lot more work to do—as a company and industry—to finally shatter the barriers that have prevented true equality and fairness for far too long. And we will continue to report on our progress in our annual Sustainable Impact Report, where we hold ourselves accountable for goals we have set and identify the areas where we simply must do better.

In a moment when so many people are facing so much uncertainty and many businesses are struggling to get by, I know some people might be wondering whether this is the right time to focus on diversity and inclusion. I can hear them asking, “Shouldn’t we just focus on profits?”

I understand that impulse, but I also know that profitability and purpose don’t have to come at the expense of one another. Oftentimes, they go hand-in-hand. And when it comes to the issue of diversity and inclusion, I strongly believe that following a sense of purpose is the surest path to profitability. 

That’s the philosophy and values we live by at HP. I would urge other business leaders to embrace it, as well. Because all of us should be running our companies in ways that champion the interests of not only our shareholders, but all of our stakeholders in the communities and societies we serve.