How experience and network ties affect the influence of demographic minorities on corporate boards

This study examines how the influence of directors who are demographic mino rities on corporate boards is contingent on the prior experience of board m embers and the larger social structural context in which demographic differ ences are embedded. We assess the effects of minority status according to f unctional background, industry background, education, race, and gender for a large sample of corporate outside directors at Fortune/Forbes 500 compani es. The results show that (1) the prior experience of minority directors in a minority role on other boards can enhance their ability to exert influen ce on the focal board, while the prior experience of minority directors in a majority role can reduce their influence; (2) the prior experience of maj ority directors in a minority role on other boards can enhance the influenc e of minority directors on the focal board, and (3) minority directors are more influential if they have direct or indirect social network ties to maj ority directors through common memberships on other boards. Results suggest that demographic minorities can avoid out-group biases that would otherwis e minimize their influence when they have prior experience on other boards or social network ties to other directors that enable them to create the pe rception of similarity with the majority.