Nasdaq’s Board Diversity Rule, which was approved by the SEC on August 6, 2021, is a disclosure standard
designed to encourage a minimum board diversity objective for companies and provide stakeholders with
consistent, comparable disclosures concerning a company’s current board composition. A copy of the approval order can be viewed here.
On December 1, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require all companies listed on Nasdaq’s U.S. exchange to publicly disclose diversity statistics on their boards of directors.
The approved rules will require most Nasdaq-listed companies to have—or explain why they don’t have—at least two diverse directors, including one who self-identifies as female and one who self-identifies as either an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+. (Foreign companies and smaller companies could have more flexibility to satisfy the requirement with two female directors.)
Nasdaq’s Board Diversity Rule, which was approved by the SEC on August 6, 2021, is a disclosure standard
designed to encourage a minimum board diversity objective for companies and provide stakeholders with
consistent, comparable disclosures concerning a company’s current board composition.
Nasdaq has prepared a fact sheet for companies on the approved rule which can be viewed here.
If you have questions about implementation of the rule or gaining access to complimentary resources to
facilitate your board search, email us at drivingdiversity@nasdaq.com.