Nasdaq threatens 75% of listed companies with orders to appoint women and LGBT or other ‘different’ directors on board – or – RT USA News



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The US stock exchange Nasdaq has warned listed companies that they must appoint at least two “different” directors to their board – a “self-identified” woman and an “underrepresented minority” or LGBTQ person – or perhaps they risk delisting.

The Nasdaq revealed its plan to boost diversity in its exchange in a proposal filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday.

Under the proposed new rules, not only will all US listed companies be required to “publicly disclose consistent and transparent diversity statistics relating to their board of directors, “but”most“Companies should nominate”different“Board members or explain why they didn’t do it in a letter.



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The mandatory addition of “one [director] who identifies as a woman and who identifies as an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ +“It seems to leave room for Rachel Dolezal’s style”self-identification“As something other than white, male or straight: a potential loophole for companies that prefer to keep their current boards. Non-US corporations and small businesses would instead be allowed to appoint two female directors.

Listed companies would be required to publish their diversity statistics within one year of the SEC’s adoption of the Nasdaq proposal and should have “a different director“Within two years of implementation. Depending on the size of the company, they would have four or five years to meet the requirement of the two administrators. Those who are not up to it can escape the delisting only.”if they provide a public explanation of the reasons for the failure to achieve the objectives. “

While the reasoning of the exchange underlying the proposal – a “increase investor confidence that all listed companies are considering diversity in the context of selecting directors“- has already raised a few eyebrows, Nasdaq insisted on analyzing”over two dozen studies that found an association between different boards of directors and better financial performance and corporate governance. “

However, with 75% of companies currently listed on Nasdaq not meeting the proposed requirements, according to the New York Times financial blog DealBook, some have wondered how the accumulation of new regulations is supposed to improve financial performance. While the Nasdaq has hit record highs in recent days, much of the real economy is still in shambles due to the Covid-19 economic closures and unable to spend resources chasing board candidates.

To apply the new quota system, Nasdaq has partnered with Equilar, a “leading provider of data solutions for business leadership.As ZeroHedge pointed out, Equilar’s board of directors appears to lack ethnic diversity.

The proposal has been largely crushed, such as social media users joked Nasdaq was “turning into [a] college admissions office“And he claimed that selecting directors based on their skin color, genitals and sexual preferences most embodied fanaticism.”diversity“Measures claim to fight.”This de-legitimizes women and the POC, “A user tweeted, emphasizing that “people will think they have achieved their position by altitude and not by talent. ”

Others simply wondered how Nasdaq planned to enforce such a rule.

Although some inevitably thought it wasn’t enough, to insist that companies wouldn’t benefit from diversity if they didn’t at least three women in their tables.

At the same time as the Nasdaq jumped aboard the Woke Express, investment bank Credit Suisse unveiled its “LGBT-350” index on Tuesday amid widespread groans. Many wondered if such an index was necessary.

The bank is by no means the only company obsessed with surface-level attributes – Goldman Sachs will not go public unless it has at least one. “differentBoard member. Since September, the state of California has required registered companies to have a minimum number of minority directors or face six-figure fines.

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