OKLAHOMA CITY – Women occupy 16.6% of the board of director seats at the 23 corporations based in Oklahoma that are on the Russell 3000 Index, the latest Gender Diversity Index published by 2020 Women on Boards reflects.
Oklahoma’s rate is below the national average of 20.4%. However, the 2019 rate is three percentage points better than the 13.6% rate recorded in 2018, and higher than the 12.1% rate in 2017.
As of June 30, 2019, women held 37 of the 223 directors’ seats on those 23 corporations whose headquarters are in Oklahoma.
Women directors constitute 20% or more of the boards of a little over one- third of those Oklahoma corporations. Eight of the companies have just one woman on their board of directors, and two corporations – both oil and gas exploration/production companies – have no women directors.
Of the 23 Oklahoma-based corporations, 12 are headquartered in Tulsa and 11 are in Oklahoma City.
Two of the companies are financial institutions; one supplies building materials; one sells software for companies to hire, manage, train and pay employees; two are public utilities; one manufactures and sells chemical products for agricultural, mining and industrial markets; and 16 are engaged in the oil and gas exploration/ production industry.
2020 Women on Boards, based in Los Angeles, Calif., tracks, analyzes and publishes the gender composition of the boards of directors of Rus- sell 3000 companies; those are the largest U.S.-traded stocks, representing 98% of all incorporated equity security in the United States.