What Does The SEC Approved NASDAQ Diversity Proposal Mean For Boards?
Financing Challenges for Small Cap Companies
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
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
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
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 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
Summary - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Nasdaq Stock Market’s proposed listing rules regarding board diversity, which will require companies to have at least two diverse directors or explain why...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved Nasdaq Inc.’s new listing rule aimed at improving diversity on corporate boards. The new listing rule proposes that companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange must...more
On August 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq’s proposed rule that would require a listed company to comply with certain board diversity requirements, or explain why it does not (the Board...more
On August 6, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the proposed rule change submitted by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) to adopt new listing rules establishing a disclosure-based framework...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a Nasdaq proposal regarding new listing rules on board diversity, as described in a previous Client Alert, which can be found here. The new rules will require most...more
You probably remember that, late last year, Nasdaq filed with the SEC a proposal for new listing rules regarding board diversity and disclosure, accompanied by a proposal to provide free access to a board recruiting service....more
The House Committee on Financial Services met virtually on April 20, 2021 to consider legislation that, among other things, would require public companies to annually disclose the voluntarily, self-identified gender, race,...more
On December 1, 2020, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the SEC to adopt Rules 5605(f) and 5606 regarding board diversity and board composition disclosure, respectively. Nasdaq believes that these new rules, if approved by the SEC,...more
These days, so much seems so long ago and far away. In February 2016, after researching the economic benefits of diverse boards of directors, I wrote an article, How The SEC Should Tackle Board Diversity. Inspired by Helen...more