• Board diversity helps to draw in and motivate talented employees. As Genpact’s Tiger Tyagarajan explains, “To attract the best talent into the company, you need to appeal to 100 percent of the top talent, not 50 percent. To do that, you need strong female role models.” • Boards that represent the customer base have better intuition. For retailers in particular, the reality is that women make up more than half of global purchasers. Board diversity is simply better business. • A diverse board boosts decision-making quality. As Scott Anderson, chairman, president, and CEO of Patterson Companies, states, “The quality of discussions goes up dramatically when you have a more diverse group in the boardroom.” Rodney McMullen, chairman and CEO of Kroger, adds that “you get questions from perspectives that you hadn’t thought of before, and I think this helps you avoid more blind spots.” Several of our interviewees emphasized that getting more women on boards isn’t the end of the story. For starters, board diversity is not just about gender. As McMullen explains, “I always think diversity of background is important, but also diversity of experiences, thinking, and career paths.” Marc Lautenbach, president and CEO of Pitney Bowes, puts it this way: “While we don’t have a specific number in mind, we do have an appreciation for the value that diversity can bring. To my mind, it’s a little bit like assembling an orchestra. I know I need a bunch of different instruments; whether I have three of one and two of the other, or three of one and three of the other—that misses the point. It’s about how all of the instruments blend together.” It’s important to recognize, of course, that broader gender inclusion at all levels of the company is critical. Companies can drive board inclusion by preparing their own female executives for future board participation: placing them in roles with profit-and-loss responsibility, ensuring they have committed sponsors and mentors, and equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to confront the governance and strategy issues that boards typically face. This can create a virtuous cycle that speeds progress on board diversity and counteracts cynicism with success stories such as those in our survey. Copyright © 2017 McKinsey & Company. All rights reserved. 5