"More than three decades after diversity became a buzzword in the upper tiers of Corporate America, corporate boards remain bastions of aging white males." (Gary Strauss, 11/2/2002, USA Today, Microquest Study finds good old boys’ network still rules corporate boards.) The article says that women hold 1,584 of 11,500 Fortune 1000 board seats, roughly 14%. At the same time, women and minorities constitute fewer than 6% of the top officers and directors of Fortune 500 companies, according to EEOC -The Glass Ceiling Report.

According to data cited by Harris DeWese in his February 2003 Printing Impressions column, This One's for Ladies Only, there are women CEOs in less than 5% of all printing companies. Only 12 (3%) of the Printing Impressions 400 companies have women CEOs.

Diversity most commonly comprises gender, race/ethnicity, age, and other variables. For this report, WhatTheyThink.com selected 20 publicly-held companies to review board diversity from two perspectives: gender and age. The good/bad news is that the Graphic Arts industry is keeping pace with the Fortune 1000. Of the 190 board seats reviewed, 28 or 14.7% are held by women. And 37 of those board seats, or 19.5%, are held by members 65 or over.

The Age Thing
Our sample of 20 companies averaged 56.5 years for board members, and 2.1 members per board aged 65 or over. Six boards have more than 30% of their members aged 65 or over, while three boards are made up of all members under 65.

The board age range varies considerably as well. For example, ages of all board members reviewed ranged from 32 to 75, and the average span of years is 24.5 years from youngest member to oldest. Two companies have more than a 34 year spread from oldest to youngest member, while one company has a 16 year spread.

The average board chairman is 57, with a maximum age of 75 and a minimum of 38; and the average corporate CEO is 52, with a maximum age of 64 and a minimum of 38.

Observations
Banta, HP, and Xerox have women Chairmen and/or CEO’s: Stephanie Streeter, CEO/President of Banta; Anne Mulcahy, Chairman/CEO of Xerox; and Carly Fiorina, Chairman/CEO of HP.

Kodak, Xerox, and HP each have three women serving on their boards.

EFI, founded in 1989, has the youngest Chairman and CEO (Guy Gecht), one of the smallest boards (7 members), no women serving on its board, two of the seven members are over 65, and an age spread of 34 years (from 38 to 72).

Creo, founded in 1983, has nine members serving on its board with no women members.

The newly formed MooreWallace, (Moore founded in 1879 and Wallace in 1908), has ten members on its board and one is a woman.

Correlation With Stock Price or EPS?
There seems to be no correlation between stock price or EPS and board diversity of age or sex. Courier Corp., with a recent stock price of $49.15 and EPS of $3.48, has nine board members - one is a woman – and the average age of the members is 61, and four are 65 or over. Mail-Well with a stock price of $2.32 and EPS of ($1.03) has ten board members, two are women, the average age of the members is 56.5, and two are 65 or over.

BOARD EXAM: Listed by Earnings Per Share