Abstract Aims Greater diversity amongst executive boards of large corporations improves performance and reputation. This study assessed diversity characteristics of Executive Boards of NHS Trusts in England. Methods Executive Board members from all 213 English NHS Trusts were analysed for demographic characteristics. Data were compared to workforce statistics from NHS Digital. Results There were 1,364,784 NHS employees in October 2024. 74% were women and 31% were from an ethnic minority. Composition of Executive Board positions was significantly different: PositionMale(vs. 26% in NHS)Wwhite(vs. 65% in NHS)Chief Executive51%83%Chief Operating Officer53%80%Chair82%83% There were differences in diversity of the rest of the Boards, though there was slightly greater representation of ethnic minority groups in Non-Executive Director roles. Median number of people on Board (minimum, maximum)Male (%)Female (%)White (%)Asian (%)Black (%)Executive Board8 (4 – 18)49%51%90%5%2%Non-Executive Board7 (2 – 11)59%41%82%8%5% Amongst Chief Executives, 103 (45%) had a clinical background with nurses (51, 24%) most represented. 16 doctors (7%) were Chief Executives; one was a surgeon (Orthopaedic). 33 Chief Operating Officers (14%) had a clinical background, of whom 2 were doctors. Conclusions The composition of Executive Boards amongst Trusts in England is not currently representative of the whole NHS workforce, with under-representation of people from an ethnic minority. Most senior leadership roles did not have a clinical background. More work is needed to determine the impact of diversity in leadership with hospital outcomes.
Canning et al. (Fri,) studied this question.