The Future of Board Diversity Disclosures
The current proxy season presents new challenges and opportunities for U.S. companies as they face shifting expectations regarding board diversity. There are a number of notable developments. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to vacate the Nasdaq diversity rules, which required Nasdaq-listed companies to disclose board diversity statistics and have a minimum number of […]
Ali Perry is a Counsel, and Jennifer Zepralka and Gabrielle Levin are Partners, at Mayer Brown LLP. This post is based on their Mayer Brown memorandum.
The current proxy season presents new challenges and opportunities for U.S. companies as they face shifting expectations regarding board diversity. There are a number of notable developments. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to vacate the Nasdaq diversity rules, which required Nasdaq-listed companies to disclose board diversity statistics and have a minimum number of diverse directors, was the first. This ruling, along with recent updates to the proxy voting guidelines of proxy advisory firms and institutional investors, has created uncertainty and variability in the board diversity landscape. Moreover, recent presidential executive orders have put increased scrutiny on such initiatives. In this Legal Update, we discuss these developments and highlight some practical considerations for U.S. companies preparing for this proxy season.
