What Does The SEC Approved NASDAQ Diversity Proposal Mean For Boards?
Financing Challenges for Small Cap Companies
On December 11, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) order approving The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC’s (Nasdaq) board diversity rules, holding that the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the SEC’s approval of Nasdaq’s board diversity rules. Consequently, Nasdaq-listed companies are no longer required to satisfy Nasdaq’s “comply or explain” director...more
In an en banc decision filed on December 11, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit) vacated the 2021 approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of rules adopted by The Nasdaq...more
In August 2021, the SEC approved new board diversity rules requiring Nasdaq-listed companies (i) to include a board diversity matrix in their proxy statement or on their website and (ii) to disclose whether they have one...more
On December 11, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down Nasdaq’s board diversity rules, which were designed to increase representation of women and minorities on corporate boards. Since 2023, the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed recently to revisit a challenge to Nasdaq's board diversity rule. As we previously reported, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit upheld the rule in October 2023....more
In Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. SEC, a panel of three 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges upheld Nasdaq’s rules on board diversity. The rules require each Nasdaq-listed company to disclose information on the...more
The intense focus on board diversity from a variety of stakeholders over the last several years has spurred many companies to examine the composition of their boards and to take action to diversify their boardrooms. While the...more
In August 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved new board diversity listing standards for companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq). As part of these new listing standards, Nasdaq...more
All Nasdaq-listed companies must now disclose a board diversity matrix by the later of (1) August 8, 2022, or (2) the date the company files its proxy statement for the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders (or, if companies do...more
The California courts have cast doubt on the legality of laws mandating the number of women and individuals from “underrepresented communities” on the boards of directors of publicly traded corporations based in California....more
Two recent rulings by California state court judges have struck-down California statutes that were intended to foster diversity at California-based public companies. In the first case, Crest v. Padilla, No. 20-STCV-37513...more
Ruling Follows Similar Decision on Underrepresented Minority Directors in April 2022 - A California court has held that California Senate Bill 826, which required that “publicly held” corporations that listed a California...more
On the heels of the April 1, 2022 court decision striking down California’s groundbreaking statute requiring underrepresented community mandates for corporate boards, a different trial court dealt the state’s corporate...more
Despite a California superior court’s recent ruling against a 2020 California law (AB 979), the move toward increasing board diversity is alive and well, as proxy advisory firms, institutional investors, Nasdaq and others...more
On August 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved the board diversity rule proposed by the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) mentioned in our previous article (the “Board Diversity Rule”). Nasdaq...more
The composition of the average company’s board of directors is more varied and unique than ever before. Nonetheless, as a whole, the energy sector lags behind the average publicly traded company in terms of increasing the...more
On 6 August 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC’s (“Nasdaq”) proposal to adopt listing rules 5605(f) and 5606 related to enhancing board diversity (the “Board...more
On August 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq listing rules implementing new board diversity disclosure requirements that will apply to most Nasdaq-listed companies (Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules)....more
On this episode of Kelley Drye’s Legal Download, Senior Associate Courtney Kleshinski and Special Counsel Shanin Farmer will discuss NASDAQ’s Diversity Proposal, approved by the SEC in August 2021, that would establish a...more
On August 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC’s (“Nasdaq”) proposed board diversity rule. The rule is intended to encourage greater board diversity by requiring board...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved a new listing rule from the Nasdaq stock exchange, requiring that all companies trading on Nasdaq have at least two diverse directors (one woman, one minority) on...more
As if issuers needed a reminder that it’s always the right time to be thinking about board composition, earlier this month, the SEC approved new Nasdaq rules that will require companies listed on that exchange to collect and...more
As you probably know, on August 6, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s proposal for a new listing rule regarding board diversity and disclosure, along with a proposal to provide free access to a board recruiting service. The new...more
On August 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved Nasdaq’s Board Diversity Rule (Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Rules 5605(f) and 5606), which requires listed companies to have at least two diverse board...more