Pension trusteeship and diversity in the UK: A new boardroom recipe for change or continuity?

Abstract

Drawing on interviews, this article investigates change and continuity induced by greater diversity among pension trustees in terms of trustees’ involvement in boardroom activities in the UK. Utilizing Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, the authors demonstrate the agency of trustees, and how greater diversity among trustees changes the boardroom decision-making process. However, the authors also reveal forms of continuity by reproduction of educational, corporate and social values within a boardroom context. The findings challenge the assumption that greater diversity may radically transform organizations.