In 2018, State Senator Hannah Beth Jackson passed and Governor Jerry Brown enacted SB826, a first-in-the-nation law requiring publicly-traded companies with California headquarters to have at least one woman on their board of directors. By January 1, 2022, the law requires that boards of six or more directors have at least three women, and boards of five have at least two. Our data shows that at least 485 women need to be added to California public company boards by the end of 2021 to fulfill the gender requirement of the law.
The law was based on numerous studies showing that companies with female directors are more profitable. Other studies demonstrate additional benefits to having more than one woman on a corporate board, such as improved crisis management, sustainability practices, workforce engagement, and greater resilience during the 2008 recession and during the Covid19 pandemic.
In order to understand the effects of this pioneering law, the California Partners Project is tracking the progress of women's representation on California's public company boards through a series of comprehensive progress reports. Through data collection and tracking, we can ensure that the law’s impacts are accurately measured, widely understood, and celebrated.
Our reports show that California's law is working in adding more women to California’s public company boards, but our companies are still missing out on talent by overlooking women of color. In 2018, nearly 30% of California's public company boards were all male; now, less than 1% are. Yet, women of color hold only 6.6% of California’s public company board seats even though females of color comprise 32% of the state’s population.
The same strategies that have led to the sea change in gender representation on California’s public company boards must now be deployed to bring women of color to the board room. We all have a vested interest in diversifying these bodies so that our companies harness the talent and unique approach diverse women bring to their roles.
