Edhat StaffSource: Office of Sen. Jackson
Legislation authored by Senator Hannah Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) and Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) to require gender diversity on corporate boards passed off the Senate Floor [Thursday]. SB 826 is a California Legislative Women’s Caucus priority.
Senate Bill 826 promotes equitable and diverse gender representation on corporate boards by requiring every publicly-held corporation in California to have a minimum of one woman on its board of directors by the end of 2019. By the end of July 2021, the bill would require a minimum of two women on boards with five members and at least three women on boards with six or more. California would be the first state in the nation with such a requirement.
“Over one-fourth of California’s publicly traded companies still do not have a single woman on their board, despite numerous independent studies that show companies with women on their Board of Directors are more profitable and productive,” said Senator Jackson. “With women comprising over half the population and making over 70% of purchasing decisions, their insight is critical to discussions and decisions that affect corporate culture, actions, and profitability. The time has come for California to bring gender equity to our corporate boards.”
“I commend Senator Jackson for her continued diligence on this issue. Representation of women on corporate boards is critical and ensures a more thorough understanding and vetting of issues that impact the everyday life of the people of California,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins.
Research has shown that gender diversity on corporate boards is associated with increased profitability, performance, governance, innovation, and opportunity. Yet, one-fourth of California’s publicly-held corporations have no women directors on their boards. In this respect, California’s corporations are falling behind their global competitors with only 15.5% of board seats held by women, lower than the Fortune 1000 list at 19.8%.
A number of European nations have mandated gender diversity on corporate boards. In 2003, Norway mandated that 40% of corporate board seats be held by women, which was followed by France and other European countries. In 2015, Germany mandated that 30% of corporate board seats be held by women. As the 5th largest economy in the world, California is well-positioned to take the lead on promoting gender equity in the workplace.
“Public corporations make business decisions every day that affect our economy and employees. Adding women board members to our public corporations will help advance family-friendly policies in the workplace and bring California one step closer to gender equity. We are grateful to Senators Hannah-Beth Jackson and Toni Atkins for leading this historic effort,” said Anne Staines of Sacramento, Statewide President of the National Association of Women Business Owners, California and SB 826 sponsor.
SB 826 now moves to the Assembly.
Jackson represents the 19th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County.
Absolute BS. Government intruding where they have no jurisdiction! These public corporations have shareholders that should have the ultimate decision making authority over something like this. Legally, they are the owners. IF there is anACTUAL persuasive case that indicates that women board members ARE better for the financials of the company, then it will happen organically on its own. Not cause some ahole politican forced it to.
Since we’re forcing protected classes onto corporate boards, let’s go ahead and require a person of each race (except caucasian, because they are not a protected class), a trans-gender person, a person with disabilities (each type, of course, because you can’t discriminate between disabilities and have a blind person on a board without a deaf person or a paraplegic, right?), a person who identifies as a man but was born a woman and vice-versa, a senior and an illegal alien. Who have I discriminated against by not including? Right on Hanna Beth!
Oh jeez, here we go again!
What happened to when qualifications were the most important factor…are we really going to set quotas?? This issue defines why the Progressives are destroying California. We need to wake up folks before it is too late.
…and people wonder why businesses are leaving our State- Where does government intrusion end…?
Oh jeez, here we go again!
Women on Boards add to the value of the company.
No one argues that point, but it’s not government’s responsibility (at taxpayer expense to potentially litigate) how businesses run and operate at this level- This is just bad government at it’s finest and the reason people are fed up with California politicians.
I am a woman on a corporate board and find this ridiculous and insulting. I had to build my career and earn my spot regardless of anatomy.
RHS California is circling the drain because of this “victim” thinking. How about we all go back to earning what we have? Lets start tomorrow!
If NBA teams were required by law to reflect the adult composition of the state in which they abide, what percentage would CA teams field of Latina and other women, handicapped, morbidly obese, over-65, Black, Asian and so forth? Would there also be a height distribution to meet? I’m not disputing barriers to many categories of jobs or disputing unjust discrimination against females, just pointing out what quotas can do if indiscriminately applied.
There are a lot of women with qualifications but it’s still the “good old boys” in charge. Still the attitude women don’t have the brains to come in out of the rain. Without a push toward inclusion nothing will change.
“Qualifications” have previously included being male, white and upper class. So these “most important” factors were self-perpetuating and created what that same group came to see as normal. In reality the people with money who run these businesses have always taken care of their own first. I don’t like this law and don’t think it can be fairly implemented but to deny the need for more objective selection is simply showing obtuseness.
We have lost our minds.
….and when you force inclusion, you end up with things like the WNBA. Admittedly, I’ve never watched an entire WNBA game, it’s just that after about ten seconds I’m bored and change the channel like nearly everyone else. WNBA = forced inclusion = failure. Go Sparks!!
No, Hannah Beth Jackson has lost her mind. It’s only true of us when/if we re-elect her.
Anyone who thinks that California is circling the drain is not paying attention to any economic facts. And as RHS pointed out, corporate boards are almost always populated based on who is buddies with who rather than any pretense of merit.
The NBA, and sports franchises in general, are the most integrated industries in the country. They did it NOT by affirmative action but simply hiring the best people for the job. Of course, it wasn’t always that way. In my youth some of the owners were concerned about the race of their players, but in every instance those teams failed. They teams that only hired the most qualified won titles and the rest of the teams eventually did the same thing.
Hannah Beth Jackson has to go. This is government overreach on every level. Why does she feel the need to spend her precious time on such trivial and meaningless laws? We are going broke as a city, county and state . Our public schools are in decay, our roads and infrastructure falling apart, our town is full of homeless and countless small businesses continue to leave CA for greener pastures and this is what you spend your time on ? We need leaders who actually work to solve real issues not token, feel good bills that do nothing for our real issues. .
Exactly Tom! Thanks for getting it.
I am sure glad we have so many locals with detailed knowledge of how corporate boards are run and how these positions are selected….I learn something new everytime I read these comments.