Dec 13, 2024 Story by: Editor
A Louisiana appeals court has ruled against Nasdaq’s policy mandating diversity on the boards of companies listed on the exchange.
This decision follows more than three years since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave its approval to Nasdaq’s initiative aimed at increasing the representation of women, racial minorities, and LGBTQ individuals on corporate boards in the United States.
The proposed policy, which would have been a groundbreaking measure for a U.S. securities exchange, sought to require nearly 3,000 Nasdaq-listed companies to include at least one woman and one individual who is either a racial minority or uncommon identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer on their boards of directors. Additionally, the policy mandated companies to publicly disclose demographic data about their boards.
However, the initiative faced fierce opposition from conservative groups and Republican lawmakers, who criticized the requirements as overly burdensome and arbitrary.
On Wednesday, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the SEC’s approval of Nasdaq’s diversity policy was unlawful. The court stated that the SEC should not have sanctioned the proposal, effectively nullifying the policy. Source: AP News
