A new study has found that 76 percent of global senior executives say that their companies have one or no minorities among their top five executives, despite the fact that a majority of the companies (54 percent) have implemented workplace diversity policies.

The US Bureau of Labor statistics estimates that 17 percent of the current labor force in the US is made up of minorities, and the percentage of minorities in the workforce is expected to increase to 20 percent by the year 2016. When these estimates are combined with the results of the recent study, it becomes clear that something is not working right, particularly in companies that do have established workplace diversity policies.

There is an undeniable gap between what companies claim about diversity and what is really happening in their workplaces. Unless this gap narrows, the progress of workplace diversity efforts will be slowed.

The disconnect between workplace diversity and boardroom diversity lies in the way that companies embrace diversity. Most executives realize the absolute need for employees, managers, and even directors who understand the diverse markets they serve and implement clear and effective strategies to achieve workplace diversity on those levels as a result.

Yet these same companies don’t seem to have effective strategies for extending their commitment to workplace diversity to the corporate boardroom. What makes this even more unbelievable is the fact that on the national level, we have one of the most diverse fields of presidential candidates in US history with a woman, an African American, and a Mormon all vying for a chance to be the president, the chairman of the most important boardroom of all.

So how can companies fix this unacceptable situation? Some companies have implemented effective solutions that start at the very beginning of the hiring process, when company recruiters review submitted resumes.

FreshStart Telephone of Las Vegas, Nevada came up with a way to improve diversity from the cubicle jungle to the executive suite by focusing exclusively on the skills and abilities of potential candidates. The company removes names from resumes on initial review so that reviewers cannot ascertain the race, ethnicity, or gender of the applicant.

As a result, the top candidates for jobs at FreshStart are those who are the most qualified based upon their skills and abilities alone. Only when the individual is selected for an interview do the recruiters discover their race, ethnicity, or gender.

Another reason why minorities may not make it to the corporate boardroom is because human resources professionals often make the mistake of placing diversity applicants in positions which may not be on a career path that will lead them to an executive level position. And if minorities do not begin in a career path that will lead them to a possible executive position, it can be very difficult to move into such a career path in the future.

Perhaps the key to promoting and ensuring diversity in the corporate boardroom is by tying diversity performance in the boardroom to executive compensation. If executives run the risk of a lighter paycheck when their corporate diversity initiatives fail, perhaps that will be an impetus for them to implement serious boardroom diversity strategies.

In my humble opinion, if corporate executives don’t set the example for diversity in the workplace, they will never be able to achieve a truly diverse workforce from the mailroom to the boardroom.