Here’s our latest look at what’s new and interesting in the world of ethics, compliance and corporate governance around the web.
SEC Commissioner Mary Jo White faced intense criticism from Congressional Democrats for failing to require corporate boards to disclose race and gender information of their board members and nominees.
According to a letter sent to the industry watchdog earlier this week, Democrats claimed that the SEC dragged its feet on making diversity in the boardroom a requirement.
“While we applaud your decision to have SEC staff review [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][the issue], we are disappointed with the amount of time the SEC is taking to examine and seek public comment on this important and widely supported proposal,” the lawmakers wrote to SEC Commissioner Mary Jo White, reported an article on the Hill.
ToGovern: RT NACD: Democrats press SEC chief Mary Jo White on diversity initiative https://t.co/wVfsyN98Gx (via WSJ) #corpgov #diversity
— Kyle Mathew (@EnCcorporation) March 3, 2016
The discussion about diversity in the boardroom has heated up in recent years. While the focal point of this issue has been on gender diversity, the overblown argument for many is: the “lack of qualified female candidates.”
Last month, a survey of corporate board members released by Spencer Stuart, an executive recruiting firm, the WomenCorporate Directors Foundation and Harvard identified the problem. The report polled male and female board members who were asked what was holding back gender diversity in the boardroom. For male respondents the main reason was a “lack of qualified female candidates”. Meanwhile only a few women agreed to this response. Instead, they believe that directors don’t prioritize diversity and male directors don’t spend much time trying to recruit qualified female directors.
In essence, lawmakers want to see that the Commission require companies to detail their diversity by providing a chart, which highlights how diverse the applicant pools for their board were and how it affected the mix on the actual boards. The SEC has agreed to review the matter but lawmakers argue that one year is not enough time for the regulator to address this issue.
“We strongly urge the Commission to avoid any further delay on seeking public comment on this straightforward proposal,” they wrote.
Moving ahead, better onboarding and training processes should be in place for all board members to ensure that a company’s board composition strikes the right balance rather than replicating the past.
ALSO IN THE NEWS:
Facebook Avoids Tax-Reducing U.K. Sales Structure: Facebook plans on reporting its U.K. sales in Britain.
New Integrity Charter for Upcoming Anti-Corruption Summit: Prime Minister David Cameron adds a new integrity charter ahead of anti-corruption summit in London.
Ex-Chesapeake CEO Dies in Car Crash: Aubrey McClendon, a natural gas industry titan died in a car crash a day after being charged with bid rigging.
Geneva: VW Scandal Continues to Inflict the Industry: Executives are still scratching their heads at an annual motor show in Geneva, Switzerland over Volkswagen’s diesel cheating scandal.
Character-Driven Leadership: The Right Momentum for Organizational Success: There’s a reason why an organization’s leadership gets the blame when things go wrong. Leaders set an organization’s culture, direction, and reputation.
TRENDING TOPICS
In Deal Boom, More Firms Ask: Is My Banker Conflicted? https://t.co/rtgiwQiLbe #corpgov @WSJ pic.twitter.com/nMYLpisiB4
— Society for Corporate Governance (@Society4CorpGov) March 3, 2016
Latest TDC newsletter is out! Articles from industry experts, board opportunities and more: https://t.co/WNxEOK0fCU #CorpGov #Boards #ContEd
— Directors College (@DC_Canada) March 3, 2016
#SportsGovernance Sports Direct branded a 'cautionary tale' after falling out of FTSE 100: Sports Dir… https://t.co/rrFSjfLTQB #CorpGov
— Corporate Governance 🇺🇦 (@ToGovern) March 4, 2016
#AubreyMcClendon Collected Chesapeake Paychecks Until His Death https://t.co/PpFzRYWG48 via @business #execpay #corpgov
— Kristyn Hyland (@KristynHyland) March 4, 2016
Out of 8,517 #women who R C-level corp officers @ 5,000 US public co.s, only 14% sit on corp boards @NACD #corpgov https://t.co/XoJzxC32vN
— 🌍Alice Korngold (she/her)🗽🌿 (@alicekorngold) March 3, 2016
COMING NEXT WEEK
A recap of Ethisphere’s 8th Annual Global Ethics Summit featuring leaders in the field of corporate governance, ethics and compliance.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
