Board diversity: More needs to be done

THE United States tech exchange Nasdaq has proposed new listing rules that, if approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), would require all its listed companies to publicly disclose consistent, transparent diversity statistics regarding their boards of directors.

"The goal of the proposal is to provide stakeholders with a better understanding of the company's current board composition and enhance investor confidence that all listed companies are considering diversity in the context of selecting directors, either by including at least two diverse directors on their boards or by explaining their rationale for not meeting that objective,'' said Nasdaq in its press release.

Nasdaq-listed companies will be required to disclose board-level diversity statistics within one year of the SEC's approval of the rule. They will also be expected to have one diverse director within two years.