Sonny Santistevan, CyberVista, September 11, 2018
California legislators have recently passed a bill that would mandate publicly-traded companies that are headquartered in California appoint one woman (at a minimum) on their board by the end of 2019. Boards with five or more directors will need to have at least two or three women by the end of 2021, contingent on the size of the board. Although California Governor Jerry Brown has yet to sign the bill, if he does, non-compliant companies will have to face financial penalties if they don’t adhere to the legislative mandate.
“There are many roads to Mecca and many ways we can accomplish strong, wise, smart, and diverse boards” said Davia Temin, President and CEO of Temin and Company. “On a principal level, I’m not very much for quotas. However, I think that the law is going along with the drumbeat of interest in getting more women on boards. I think it would happen regardless whether there is a law or not because I think the momentum is there, but I do think this is going to hurry it along.”
When asked if the legislation would test the pipeline of potential qualified female candidates, Temin seemed less concerned. “I do think there is a great pipeline for women directors – and a full pipeline for women directors that exist already, so I think that should this law be on the books, they will find some great people to populate the director ranks.” […read more]