Tagged: corporate board diversity

18 Nov, 2021

A Recent Report Card on Board Diversity

For all the hype about ESG, board accountability, stakeholder demands for diversity and inclusion, a recent report on board diversity shows little change. That is not surprising. The forces of resistance to change are particularly strong, especially when directed at corporate boards. What is surprising is how resistance clings to practices that directly undermine efficiency and financial profitability. Board diversity improves governance performance and that...

SEC Approves Nasdaq Board Diversity Proposal

General

19 Aug, 2021

SEC Approves Nasdaq Board Diversity Proposal

The growing demand for increased diversity on corporate boards passed another hurdle. The SEC approved to Nasdaq’s proposed rule changes to mandate increased board diversity requirements. Three SEC Commissioners, including Chairman Gensler, approved the measure, and one Republican commissioner opposed the measure. The other Republican commissioner supported the proposal only in part. Under the new Nasdaq rules, listed companies would have to meet minimum targets...

California Mandates Increased Diversity on Corporate Boards

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16 Dec, 2020

California Mandates Increased Diversity on Corporate Boards

The United States continues to lag in corporate board diversity. Many corporate boards are dominated by white males. Progress on this issue has been slow. The number of women on Russell 3000 boards rose from 15 to 19 percent. Most of the increase occurred on boards of mid- and large-cap companies. In 2019, 45 percent of new board members were female and only 15 percent...

Episode 158 — Improving Corporate Board Governance

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30 Aug, 2020

Episode 158 — Improving Corporate Board Governance

It has been almost one year since the Business Roundtable Restatement of Corporate Purposes to underscore expansion of broad governance and sustainability principles. Yet, one year later, not much has changed. Corporate board governance needs to improve and initiate reforms in response to recurring problems and scandals. Corporate boards can no longer represent resting places for business executives at the end of their respective careers. ...

Corporate Board Diversity: A Slow Train Moving (Part II of IV)

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18 Aug, 2020

Corporate Board Diversity: A Slow Train Moving (Part II of IV)

Corporate board diversity continues to increase slowly – and I mean slowly. For United States companies, corporate boards are far behind their foreign counterparts. California has imposed a minimal requirement that every public company must reserve at least one board seat for a female director. Norway, Spain, France and Iceland have legal requirements that women comprise at least 40 percent of boards at public companies. ...

General

28 Aug, 2019

US Board Diversity: Slow-Moving Change

As a long-time Bob Dylan fan, I have suffered the ups and downs of his career. Well, not really “suffered” but empathized may be a better way to express my commitment. We all remember the days when Dylan embraced Christianity and recorded some great music with Dire Straits. Slow Train Coming was a great song (listen here). Now, to bring this analogy to corporate board...

General

11 Jul, 2016

The Importance of Diversity on Corporate Boards

If there is one area where I would like to see improvement in the corporate governance world, it has to be at the corporate board level. While companies are expanding internal compliance programs, companies fail to take a hard look at their own corporate board performance beyond rote and well-established self-assessment models. Corporate boards have to be held accountable for their performance and commitment to...

General

2 Jul, 2015

Shining a Light on Corporate Boardrooms and the Absence of Diversity

Some things are really clear in life – everyone knows something has to change but no one acts. Maybe it goes back to a common theme in corporate cultures – an unwillingness to stand out and instead rely on silence or what some like to call – “The GM Nod,” meaning everyone acts like they are in agreement but no one is “bold” enough to...