50/50 Women on Boards expands
50/50 Women on Boards announced a Lisbon ‘Conversation on Board Leadership’ for April 23, convening global governance leaders and search firms like Spencer Stuart to push intersectional board diversity. The event signals that search firms are prioritizing cultural and cognitive diversity—now a core element of director brand-building. (morningstar.com) (markt-kom.com)
Volunteer Chair M. Claire Chung is leading the Lisbon effort and confirmed speakers include Heather Spilsbury, Tania Binder, Rita Cruz, Nuno Fernandes, Luisa Delgado, Sandra Santos and Nuno Ferreira Pires. (prnewswire.com) (prnewswire.com) The program will be hosted at CCA Law Firm and the evening will officially launch the 50/50 Women on Boards Mentorship Program in Portugal, modeled on the organization’s Mexico City mentorship initiative. (prnewswire.com) (prnewswire.com) Lisbon joins 50/50 WOB’s City Conversation series that now spans roughly 20 major markets, with prior hubs listed as London, Mexico City, Nairobi, Tokyo and Toronto. (prnewswire.com) (prnewswire.com) 50/50 Women on Boards’ Gender Diversity Index reports that women hold 30.1% of corporate board seats as of the GDI’s February 17, 2026 update. (5050wob.com) (5050wob.com) Spencer Stuart’s Tania Binder is a member of the firm’s Board practice and Spencer Stuart established a permanent presence in Portugal with Lisbon-based consultants announced last year. (spencerstuart.com) (spencerstuart.com) Spencer Stuart’s 2025 U.S. Board Index shows S&P 500 boards appointed 374 new independent directors in 2025, with new appointees skewing older and 59% classified as retired executives while 30% were CEOs and 29% financial experts. (prnewswire.com) (prnewswire.com) The firm publicly describes a competency-based, data-driven approach to candidate evaluation and its board research explicitly cites cognitive diversity and culture as high-value board attributes. (spencerstuart.com) (spencerstuart.com) Boston Consulting Group’s BLISS research draws on more than 27,000 employees across 16 countries and finds stronger inclusion correlates with materially lower attrition (about a 50% reduction) and higher innovation-driven revenue for more diverse firms. (bcg.com) (bcg.com)
