Smaller listed companies continue to ignore the advantages of getting some diversity on their boards and are sticking with the "stale, pale and male" directors with whom they feel so comfortable.

At least 48 of the ASX 300 companies have no women on their boards at all and, despite all the hype about the Asian Century, the number of directors with an Asian cultural background is so small it could be counted as a "rounding error", according to a new diversity report.