California is first state to require women on corporate boards

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. Jerry Brown.

The measure requires at least one female director on each board of California-based corporations by the end of next year. Companies would need up to three female directors by the end of 2021, depending on the number of board seats.

The Democratic governor referenced the objections and concerns that the law has raised.

“I don’t minimize the potential flaws that indeed may prove fatal to its ultimate implementation,” Brown wrote in a signing statement. “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.

Having more women on boards will make companies more successful, said state Sen. HannahBeth Jackson, who authored the bill, SB 826.

Women tend to be more collaborative and are better at multitasking, the Santa Barbara Democrat said. She believes having more women in power also could help reduce sexual assault and harassment in the workplace.

A quarter of publicly held corporations with headquarters in California don’t have any women on their boards of directors. These companies haven’t done enough to increase the number of women despite the legislature’s urging, Jackson said.

“This is one of the last bastions of total male domination,” she said. “We know that the public and business are not being well served by this level of discrimination.”