The push for board diversity has gained momentum in recent years, in part as an acknowledgment that a board’s needs are changing in response to an increasingly complex, competitive, and dynamic operating environment. The advent of disruptive technologies, geopolitical shifts, and evolving consumer behaviors and expectations has compelled boards to adopt a more expansive approach to oversight, strategy, and widening the lens on the risks that could harm the company. Recent retreats by ISS, Vanguard, and others of a full-throated endorsement of board diversity should be viewed for what they are – a calculated risk mitigation strategy in response to the current political climate and recent legal decisions around diversity mandates. The factors that underpin a commonsense business case for demographic diversity on boards are as relevant as ever.