SACRAMENTO, CALIF.—California has become the first state to require publicly traded companies to include women on their boards of directors, according to a law signed Sunday by Gov. The state has become the first to require publicly traded companies to include women on their boards of directors by 2020. “Nevertheless, recent events in Washington, D.C. — and beyond — make it crystal clear that many are not getting the message.” Some European countries, including Norway and France, already mandate that corporate boards include women. A fourth of publicly held corporations with headquarters in California don’t have any women on their boards of directors. The law also requires companies to report their board composition to the California secretary of state and imposes a $100,000 fine if a company fails to do so.

Source: thestar September 30, 2018 21:45 UTC