Why boards can’t afford sameness: the case for age diversity

A few weeks ago, I saw a LinkedIn post from Debbie Wosskow OBE. Aside from being an impressive entrepreneur and investor, Debbie is someone who influenced me early in my career because her creation, Love Home Swap, ultimately led to GuardHog, the insurtech start-up I helped to create.

Her post commented on what makes an effective board?

Debbie’s answer was clear, it’s not about titles or tenure, it’s about listening and making space for strategic conversation. It’s also about creating the right blend of people - insiders and outsiders, experienced directors and fresh perspectives, diversity of background, age, and mindset.

That idea, that blend, has been circling in my head ever since. It also connects directly to what I’ve been studying through my Diploma in Corporate Governance: the fact that sameness in the boardroom isn’t just uninspiring, it’s a governance risk.

What high-performing boards look like

The governance textbooks are clear. Effective boards are adaptable and forward-looking. They’re composed of directors who can grasp new concepts quickly and understand how emerging trends, from artificial intelligence to shifting demographics, will impact strategy.

When you build a board of individuals with different backgrounds, experiences and mindsets, you create the conditions for healthy challenge. Groupthink is avoided, blind spots are reduced and the culture becomes genuinely collaborative.

Diversity beyond box-ticking

Too often, diversity is reduced to a compliance exercise, but genuine diversity is multi-dimensional. It’s about gender, ethnicity, nationality, yes, but also about age, skills and professional background.

Age is especially overlooked.

Research shows that many boards lack directors under 50.

That matters.

Without younger voices, boards risk a disconnect from the very customers, employees, and investors they aim to serve. They miss the chance to anticipate cultural shifts, technology adoption curves, and evolving expectations.

Diversity is not an HR initiative, it’s a commercial advantage. Studies consistently show that diverse boards outperform on decision-making, innovation and financial returns. In an industry where the margin between success and failure can be narrow, that advantage should be irresistible.

It's not about men v women, it's about combining diversity of thought

The untapped talent pool

One of the barriers to board diversity is perception: “the candidates just aren’t there.” That’s a convenient myth. In reality, the pipeline is full of leaders just below the C-suite who already oversee complex operations, carry P&L responsibility and manage strategic transformation.

Among this talent pool are marketers.

Anyone who’s met me knows I will die on the sword of Marketing as a discipline of strategic intelligence.

Marketers sit at the intersection of customer, competitor, and commercial data. They’re trained to spot opportunities, manage reputational risk and translate complexity into clarity.

For an insurer facing disruption from insurtech challengers, ESG scrutiny, and changing client behaviour, these skills are not optional, they’re critical. Boards that bring in marketing expertise can pre-empt change rather than scramble to respond.

Why age and gender matter together

There has been progress on gender representation, though it is patchy and still a depressing read.

Workforce breakdown by gender, London Matters Report 2024

But what’s really rare is intersectional diversity: younger, female voices at board level.

That absence has consequences. Insurance is trying to position itself as an industry of the future, one that can attract and retain the best talent while convincing the next generation of clients and investors of its value. Yet if the board doesn’t reflect that future, the credibility gap widens.

A boardroom still dominated by older, male, technical profiles risks appearing out of step with the world it governs. In contrast, a more balanced composition signals adaptability, inclusivity and long-term vision.

The governance risk of sameness

Boards exist to govern risk and enable long-term success. Homogeneity is itself a governance risk, narrowing perspective, reducing adaptability and undermining credibility with stakeholders who expect more.

The most effective boards will expand their search beyond the usual suspects. They’ll bring in directors who are younger, diverse and commercially strategic. Leaders who can bridge customer, competitor and cultural insight with governance responsibility.

Because the truth is simple: the risks insurers face are too complex to be managed by sameness. Future-proofing requires different voices at the table - for example,

• a slightly younger female,

• who's neurodivergent,

• from north of the border,

• with an unusual level of insurance knowledge,

• Chartered Marketing status,

• and a fresh qualification in governance and AI.

Stranger things have happened… ;-)

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You can contact me at cara@ooshkaconsulting.com if you'd like to add some diversity to your board.