e.l.f. Beauty has collaborated with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), to release the “Not-So-White Paper” report underscoring the impactful role that board diversity plays in the success of U.S. publicly traded companies. 
 
N.C. A&T is the nation’s largest historically Black college or university (HBCU). With an annual economic impact of $2.4 billion and external research funding of more than $102 million in fiscal year 2024, the university continues to drive social justice, economic growth, and educational excellence. 
 
Its Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences and Deese College of Business and Economics contributed to this report.
 
This partnership is part of e.l.f. Beauty’s Change the Board Game initiative, e.l.f.’s long-term commitment to increasing diverse representation in the boardroom by providing research, advocacy, and tools to corporate leaders.
 
According to the report, 
 
“Over a decade of research from the commercial sector and academia shows convincingly that diversity in the boardroom can have several positive benefits for a company, including higher return on equity, reduced financial risk, better returns for shareholders, and fewer lawsuits. However, these benefits are not automatic, and they are most likely to occur when there are at least three members of underrepresented communities on a Board of Directors. This should make sense to board members from their lived experience, as one voice can put an issue on the radar and a second voice can validate it, but it often takes at least three to make a quorum that can change policy.”
 
The findings of the “Not-So-White Paper” are being presented at the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) meeting, where ~1,500 executives and board members representing the largest nationwide network of directors will be in attendance.
 
The report is broken down into three sections:

1. A review of existing studies yielding evidence that board diversity – on both gender and racial/ethnic lines – positively impacts performance and helps reduce financial and legal risk for companies across sectors, and of varying sizes.
2. The Change the Board Game Database was created and includes the racial and gender representation of more than 4,000 U.S.-based, publicly traded companies listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ.
3. An initial analysis of the new data set was conducted, which ranked boards by gender and racial/ethnic diversity, identified the makeup of the “average board” in terms of representation, and correlated increased diversity to improved performance. 

Tarang Amin, Chairman and CEO, e.l.f. Beauty, commented, 
 
“Today, more than ever, diversity is essential for strong corporate governance. The research draws real-world correlations that diverse boards are better equipped to navigate complex business environments, foster innovation, and deliver value to shareholders. Our own intentional and ongoing journey led us to a Board of Directors that is 78% women and 44% diverse. This stewardship gives us the opportunity to be an agent of positive change.”

The “Not-So-White-Paper” Key Findings

• Above-average gender diversity on corporate boards of S&P 500 companies saw 15% return on equity and a 50% reduction in earnings risk measured by EPS over one year.
• Women on boards correlate to better price-to-earnings ratios. 
• Boards with three or more women and/or minorities have a lower likelihood of large-scale discrimination lawsuits. 

Elimelda Moige Ongeri, Ph.D., Hairston College Dean, said, 
 
“The findings underscore that a Board of Directors reflecting a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds is a critical factor for achieving competitive advantage and sustainable growth. More importantly, the goals of the Change the Board Game project align well with N.C. A&T’s legacy of being at the forefront of advancing social justice and equity. N.C. A&T is proud to engage multidisciplinary researchers on this project, as this provides a more comprehensive analysis and contextualizes the data.”
 
In addition to this partnership, e.l.f. Beauty is sponsoring board preparation training for 20 corporate director candidates through the NACD Accelerate program and will be sponsoring a second cohort with 20 director candidates in early 2025. 
 
E.l.f. Beauty is also a sponsor of the NACD Center for Inclusive Governance (CFIG), which is focused on creating diverse and inclusive boards that are ready for today and the future through education and peer-to-peer dialogue.
 
See here for the full report. 

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