Over the last three decades, there has been an accelerating push for diversity on the boards of Australian listed companies, with a particular focus on gender representation. This study turns attention to a less examined dimension: the role of executive recruiters in facilitating or hindering ethno-racial diversity in board appointments. Adopting a Bourdieuian lens, we use a relational approach to explore how executive recruiters operate in the field of Australian corporate board recruitment. By centring their perspectives, we theorise: (1) how recruiters contribute to the construction of the ‘ideal-type’ board member (operationalised as selection criteria) and (2) how this construction is shaped by surrounding dynamics and logics. Our findings offer critical insights into the gatekeeping role of executive recruiters in shaping board composition, offering a theoretical understanding of how the selection process sustains ethno-racial exclusion at the highest levels of corporate governance; and practical implications for practitioners. JEL Classification: M12 – Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation; M14 – Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
Groutsis et al. (Thu,) studied this question.