VOA慢速英语--美国企业发现有很多女性与少数民族

American Business Finds Lots of Women, Few Minorities

Diversity is making uneven¹ progress in leadership positions of American business. Women increasingly are getting positions on boards of companies. Members of racial and ethnic² minorities, however, are still rarely appointed to boards.

Twenty-seven percent of new company directors in the Russell 3000 Index were women during 2016-2018. That is up from 21 percent in the three-years before, says ISS Analytics. It provided these estimates in an examination for Reuters. In 2018 alone, the percentage was 32 for women.

Though women still are underrepresented, their gains have been larger than those of African-Americans and Latinos. Blacks represent 5 percent, and Latinos 2 percent, of new directors in 2016-2018. This is very close to the percentages from the three-year period just before.

White men have long controlled U.S. corporate³ boards. Some business leaders argue that it is hard to find qualified⁴ candidates of diverse backgrounds. They also say it is difficult at times to know the race or ethnicity of candidates.

Now, directors and experts say, women are gaining entry partly because of pressure from major investment companies and lawmakers. But also, the experts say, realizing gender⁵ diversity is simpler than other diversity. Women are easier to count and make up a larger group to choose, they say.

Supporters of greater gender diversity say it can bring better financial results and improve public relations. They also argue that gender diversity is the right move since women are more than half the American population.

Joe Johnson is a Boston-based partner at the Goodwin law firm. He advises corporate boards. “They’ll move to minorities next,” he said, adding that now most big companies are looking for more women.

Dominique Mielle is a white woman who was named a director of Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation in November. She said things like the “Me Too” movement have forced boards to add women so that big investors⁶ will continue to support them.

“If they will say no to your…directors, that’s a problem” Mielle said.

A new California law requires that at least three women sit on the boards of state-based publicly traded companies with six or more directors by the end of 2021. At least four other states have passed or are considering similar laws, says the National Conference of State Legislatures. While this is good for women, no laws are planned to help minorities.

Lack of women 'a flag'

Other countries are more explicit⁷ in their demands for diversity – at least when it comes to gender.

In Europe several countries have quotas⁹, including France which requires 40 percent of board members at its largest listed companies to be women. In Germany there is a 30 percent quota⁸. Britain has a government-backed target for women to make up a third of its 350 largest boards by the end of 2020.

In the U.S., those who want diverse boards say they help companies deal better with modern issues.

Some research shows that gender diversity is linked to better financial results. This may be because those companies are more likely to have engaged employees and lower turnover¹⁰.

But other studies suggest that companies with more women directors perform no differently.

The advising company PwC surveyed 714 corporate directors last October. Eighty-four percent of those questioned said diversity improves board performance. But 52 percent agreed, at least partly, that “board diversity efforts are driven by political correctness.”

Males represented 80 percent of the board directors surveyed.

Keeping a list

Some companies now provide diversity information in documents required by the government.

Last year finance company Regional Management Corp documented four of its eight directors as “White/Caucasian” and four as “Hispanic/Latino.”

Regional director Roel Campos said investors probably want these details because many of Regional’s customers are Latino.

He says, “We believe that...investors are better informed and can judge” whether his company’s diversity leads to better performance.

Luis Aguilar sits on several corporate boards. He says he does not believe arguments that it is hard to find qualified women and minorities to serve on boards.

“I no longer give much credibility to people saying they can’t find who they’re looking for, because I can quickly find who they’re looking for” through several organizations, Aguilar said.

I’m Susan Shand. And I’m Caty Weaver¹¹.

Words in This Story

boardroom – n. a room where the group of people who manage or direct a company or organization have meetings

bias¹² – n. a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly

gender – n. whether one is a man or a woman

quota – n. a specific amount or number that is expected to be achieve

1 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

8 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

9 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

10 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

11 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

12 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。