“ Since we began this campaign in March 2017 , and after 5 years of productive engagement and voting , 948 companies have responded to our call by adding their first female director to their boards ,” Vernardis finishes , proudly .
The aim now is to expand this remit even further .
The Effectiveness of Shareholder Voice on Gender Diversity State Street Global Advisors ’ work is all the more important in light of recent research . It suggests that the work of large index investors such as State Street Global Advisors is more effective than government mandates in motivating broad-based governance changes and expanding women ’ s participation in corporate leadership .
Diversity of thinking and perspective in board leadership is critical to the effective oversight of the company and execution of strategy .
“ On the issue of gender diversity while boards have become more gender diverse , it is clear that this work is not yet complete . This year we have expanded our campaign on gender diversity from targeting companies in our major indices in select markets to all markets globally . So we now expect all our portfolio companies across the globe to have at least one woman on their boards . From 2023 we expect companies in our main indices to have boards comprised of at least 30 % women directors ,” Vernardis explains .
Climate Change : Supporting the Transition to a Low Carbon Future Climate change is also a top priority for State Street Global Advisors in 2022 .