Latinos are 18% of the U.S. population … … but only 3% of corporate directors

Even big Latin-themed restaurant chains have no Hispanic board members. Activists want to change that

- JAMES E. ELLIS

Racial justice protests last summer brought attention to the lack of diversity in just about every power center in America. But while calls for policing reforms and a reduction in income inequality have commanded headlines, some Hispanic leaders have used the moment to cast a spotlight on a less noticed uphill diversity initiative: boosting the representation of Latinos in boardrooms of a nation where they’re already the largest ethnic group.

Hispanic activists think the time is ripe for making advances. In September, California approved a law that will require public companies based in the state to have more women on their boards and at least one director from an underrepresented minority by the end of 2021. Nasdaq in December submitted a proposed rule to the Securities and Exchange Commission that would require its more than 3,000 listed companies to have at least one female director, and one from an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ group.

Giant fund managers Vanguard Group and BlackRock Inc. this year will begin tracking gender, ethnic, and racial diversity on public companies in which they invest. Vanguard will focus on boards, saying it may vote against directors at companies where progress on diversity falls short starting in 2021; BlackRock will take the same approach starting in 2022, but will start this year to push companies to release their overall ethnic and racial data.