US boardroom diversity efforts 'making slow progress'

Efforts to improve boardroom diversity and female representation in the US are failing to make any significant progress.

This is according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, which has noted that hiring of women board members remains low, despite the business benefits associated with this practice.

Data from research group Catalyst showed that women occupy only 16 per cent of seats among Fortune 500 companies, while a similar report from the Conference Board also highlighted slow progress.

However, Catalyst's figures also show that major companies with three or more female directors achieved much better financial results between 2004 and 2008 than those with none.

Catalyst senior vice president Debbie Soon said: "A board with at least three women gains diverse viewpoints that can enhance results."

This comes after data published by the InterOrganization Network earlier this month showed that performance in terms of boardroom diversity tends to vary between different areas of the US.