Wisconsin’s 50 largest public companies, based on revenues, ranked by female board membership. Source: Milwaukee Women inc The percentage of women and women of color serving on corporate boards in Wisconsin continues a slow-and-steady upward climb, annual research by Milwaukee Women inc shows. Women currently hold 27.3% of board seats at
[caption id="attachment_578835" align="alignright" width="373"] Wisconsin's 50 largest public companies, based on revenues, ranked by female board membership. Source: Milwaukee Women inc[/caption]
The percentage of women and women of color serving on corporate boards in Wisconsin continues a slow-and-steady upward climb, annual research by Milwaukee Women inc shows.
Women currently hold 27.3% of board seats at Wisconsin’s top 50 public companies, up from 26.3% in 2022, according to a news release Wednesday summarizing the organization's 2023 report. This latest figure lags behind the 33% representation of women on boards of companies listed on the S&P 500.
Topping this year's list of public companies are: (in descending order) Milwaukee-based Brady Corp., Madison-based Exact Sciences Corp., Menomonee Falls-based Kohl's Corp., Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation and Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group. All have a total of four female directors on their boards. Five of the 50 companies have only one female board director and one, Brookfield-based Rev Group Inc., has zero.
At Wisconsin’s top 50 private companies, women hold 21.1% of board seats, a slight increase over last year's 20.5% representation. In this category, the state is ahead of the national curve, which has women occupying an average of 16% of board seats at private companies in the U.S.
The insurance sector dominates the ranking of private companies, led by (in descending order) Madison-based American Family Insurance, Neenah-based SECURA Insurance, West Bend-based West Bend Mutual Insurance, Merrill-based Church Mutual Insurance and Madison-based CUNA Mutual Group. Fourteen of the 50 companies have only one female board director and 18 have zero.
[caption id="attachment_578836" align="alignright" width="372"] Wisconsin's 50 largest private companies, based on revenues, ranked by female board membership. Source: Milwaukee Women inc[/caption]
Entitled “Driving Forward: Our Work Is Not Done,” the 2023 report also calls attention to the incremental growth in racial representation of women on corporate boards. Currently, 6.3% of total board members at Wisconsin’s top 50 public companies are women of color, up from 5.7% in 2022. And what's more, 29 of the total 126 (23%) female directors at those companies are women of color, up from 26 out of 120 (22.6%) in 2022.
“As the data shows, companies are recognizing the benefits of board diversity and are taking thoughtful and deliberate actions to increase diversity on their boards," said Kim Stoll, MWi chair and vice president of sales and marketing for Badger Meter. "While we are making good progress, our work is not done."
Milwaukee Women inc was created in 2002 with the goal of achieving balanced representation of women on corporate boards of directors and has produced research on board gender diversity of the 50 largest Wisconsin-based public companies since 2004. Last year, female board representation at Wisconsin’s top 50 public companies surpassed MWi's goal of 25% by 2025.
This year's report shows a notable increase in the number of "Power of 3" companies, those with three or more female board directors. Of the state's top 50 public companies, 26 (52%) have three or more women on their boards, compared to 22 (44%) in 2022. The number of Power of 3 companies in the Russell 3000 index is 44%, placing Wisconsin substantially above the average, according to the release. Of the state's top 50 private companies, 13 (26%) have three or more women directors, compared to 11 (22%) in 2022.
"Milwaukee Women inc strives to connect companies, CEOs, nominating and governance committee chairs, and search firms with our networks of qualified female directors, including our public database of board-ready female executives," said Stoll. "Ensuring a director search process that prioritizes equity not only establishes a culture of inclusion at the top, but can also positively impact the bottom line."
