This year’s PWC survey of corporate directors has some striking findings.

• 49 percent of the directors surveyed believe at least one of their fellow board members should not be serving.
• More boards are doing self-assessments but many boards are focusing on some of the easier things to change, such as adding more expertise to the board or changing up committees, and avoiding the more difficult topics, like counseling an underperforming director or not renominating someone. Only 15 percent counseled underperforming directors or refused to re-nominate them.
• Forty-three percent of directors say it is difficult to voice a dissenting view on at least one topic.
• More than half (56%) of directors say investors are giving too much time and focus to ESG–nearly twice the percentage saying the same in 2018.
• Despite the benefits, director support for board diversity is falling. Only 38% of directors say that gender diversity is very important to their boards, down from 46% in 2018–and the lowest level since 2014. Similar to ESG, directors seem to be tired of the issue–63% of directors say investors devote too much attention to board gender diversity, up from 35% last year.