The Philadelphia Commission for Women Joins the Forum for Executive Women in Honoring the Region’s “Champions of Board Diversity”

The Philadelphia Commission for Women congratulates the 19 public companies in the region who were named “Champions of Board Diversity” today by the Forum of Executive Women. These companies were honored for having 25 % or more women on their boards. The announcement came with the release of the Forum’s annual “Women on Boards” report.  Jovida Hill, the commission’s executive director, said that while the report delivered good news there’s tremendous growth opportunities to close the gender gap.   “Study after study shows that companies with more women board directors, consistently out-perform companies with no or few women on their boards,” she said.

The report revealed that of the 60 board openings this year, 20 went to women. Companies with no women on their boards decreased from 35 in 2014 to 27 in 2015. And while that’s an improvement, PwC partner Deanna Byrne suggested that a survey of the age of current corporate board members provided reasonable projections for when seats may become available to be filled by women in the future. The report also noted that 14 percent of seats on corporate boards are held by women, up one percentage point from 2014.

Addressing the gathering, Mayor James Kenney congratulated the companies honored by the Forum, and said that when there is diversity at the top, it filters throughout the entire organization. ”Companies that miss the diversity opportunity will be left behind,” he said. The mayor also encouraged corporations to work harder at recruiting more women of color to top leadership posts.  Noting that women color represent just one percent of those who sit on corporate boards, Kenney said,  “diversity at the top of any organization is not just the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do, and it is the profitable thing to do.”

Champions of Board Diversity
Navent Corporation

Aqua America Inc.

American Water Works Co. Inc.

The Chemours Company

Artesian Resources Corporation

CubeSmart

Ametek Inc.

DNB Financial Corporation

SEI Investments Company

Five Below Inc.

Unisys Corporation

Nutrisystem Inc.

Campbell Soup Company

Recro Pharma

AmerisourceBergen Corporation

SLM Corporation

Knoll Inc.

Urban Outfitters Inc.

South Jersey Industries, Inc.