The percentage of women on Georgia’s public company boards has steadily increased every year. Until now, that is.
Women directors make up 27.4 percent of the state’s corporate board, virtually the same as 2024, when women held 27.2 percent of director seats.
The 2025 OnBoard study also showed some backsliding of key metrics. OnBoard tracks the number of women on Georgia’s corporate boards, including women of color. The nonprofit has been tracking women on public company boards since 1993.
Lisa Robinson, OnBoard’s president and CEO, said the statistic that concerns her the most is the “infill” rate. That measures what percentage of available director slots in the past year were filled by women. Only 26.4 percent of the 72 open director seats were filled by women, compared to 37.7 percent in 2024.
“The fill rate is the most important metric that OnBoard tracks,” Robinson said.
Grace Nelson, founder and executive director of Magenta, which compiles the annual OnBoard study, agreed.
“The fill rate is at the lowest it’s been since 2017,” Nelson said. “That’s a concern because it’s an indicator of how things are now. And it’s also a forward-looking metric.”
OnBoard will unveil its annual study at its Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award Dinner on Nov. 6 at the Dogwood at Westside Paper. The keynote speaker will be Siri Lindley, a two-time world champion triathlete, who will talk about resiliency.
Marcela Donadio, a retired partner of Ernst & Young, will receive the Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award. Donadio also serves as an independent director of Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern.
At last year’s dinner, the big news was that eight Georgia public companies had reached parity, having at least as many women directors as men. This year, only five companies had parity on their boards. The primary reason was that when a woman stepped down as a director, she was replaced by a man.
Those Georgia companies were Invesco Mortgage Capital, Vestis and National Vision, which added a new male director to its board.
Another disturbing trend is the declining number of public companies in the state, due to acquisitions, mergers and firms that have gone out of business.
In 2000, a high-watermark year, there were 239 public companies in Georgia. Now there are only 103 public companies compared to 115 in 2024. A loss of public companies translates to fewer board seats and fewer opportunities for women to serve as directors.
The number of companies with at least three women on their boards also declined from 49 to 46.
Nelson said there were three new “Power of Three” companies: Citi Trends, Crawford & Co., Floor & Décor and Manhattan & Associates. But seven companies fell off the list (three because they were acquired). This means there was a net loss of three “Power of Three” companies.
All of Georgia’s Fortune 500 companies have multiple women on their boards, with one exception — Mohawk Industries, which has one woman director.
Also, 11 public companies in Georgia have no women on their boards: Affinity Bancshares, Inc., Dogwood Therapeutics (formerly Virios Therapeutics), Guided Therapeutics, Hawkeye Systems, Luvu Brands, Mastermind, Parks! America, Regional Health Properties, Santo Mining, Volato Group and Wheels Up Experience.
“We are going to have some ups and downs,” said Robinson, who expects 2026 to be more of the same given the anti-DEI climate in Washington, D.C. “I think the threats or concerns will remain. Some of the companies are tweaking their policies and efforts that support women internally and externally. Some of their initiatives have been put on pause.”
Betsy Camp, co-chair of OnBoard’s Advisory Committee, who has had 30 years of board experience from Synovus to Genuine Parts, said it’s a time to reframe the conversation about diversity on boards.
“It’s changed the way we talk about it, but not the intent,” Camp said. “Now it’s more about individual, merit-based efforts to help people fulfill their potential.”
Several influential organizations have backed off from recommending or requiring diversity on corporate boards.
For example, two entities that provide proxy advice to companies — Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, have backed away from policies urging companies to have a diverse slate of directors.
Another important voice, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, shifted away from previous calls for diversity, equity and inclusion as well as the environment, social and governance policies in his April letter to the CEO’s of BlackRock’s portfolio companies.
Federal policies have also changed. During the administration of President Joe Biden, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) required companies to have at least one woman and a minority representative on corporate boards.
The SEC no longer includes that information in its reports to shareholders.
“Now executive orders say it’s wrong to favor one group over another,” Camp said. “The environment has changed, so we are going to have to change with it.”
Camp did call it “a strange time” for corporate America.
“I think this is the way it’s going to be for the foreseeable future. There just won’t be the push [for diversity] from entities in the business environment,” she said. “Clearly, it’s going to make a difference.”
In the spirit of being able to respond to changing federal policies, OnBoard has launched a “Men’s Advisory Council” to help advise the organization and navigate the current environment.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to change our mission,” Camp said. “It’s very important to have an organization like OnBoard. The study is a great way to compare progress, or the lack of it, from year to year. It’s extremely important to have the numbers, but more importantly, On Board provides education to women who want to be directors.”
Robinson concluded that it’s time for people who believe in the importance of having a diverse corporate environment to reaffirm their commitment.
“The central theme for this year is resiliency,” Robinson said. We can’t coast. We have to step it up. We have to pay attention. We cannot be afraid or apologize for talking about it.”
Great