Board Diversity as Institutional Competence: Recognition and Misrecognition of Diversity Claims

Abstract

Board diversity is an internationally recognised concern. However, board diversity has divergent meanings and measures across national and sectoral settings. While the dominant form of board diversity is gender diversity, other claims for board diversity such as ethnicity, class, age, sexual orientation, disability, and culture are emerging as legitimate concerns. In this chapter, we focus on the recognition and misrecognition of diversity categories and the implications of intersectional and multi-category diversity perspectives on board composition. In particular, we explore posthumanist diversity as a category which is subject to misrecognition and deserves recognition. The chapter highlights how institutional competence could play a role in transforming misrecognition to recognition of diversity claims in organisations.