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Nasdaq's ultimatum

Photo: Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images

New diversity and inclusion rules are on the table for some of America's most powerful corporations, courtesy of one of its most powerful stock exchanges.

What's new: Nasdaq is threatening to delist companies that won't move toward having at least one woman and at least one underrepresented minority or LGBTQ person on their corporate boards.

Why it matters: More than 3/4 of the companies listed on the Nasdaq fall short of the proposed requirements, according to its own review.

  • "Around 80% or 90% of companies had at least one female director, but only about a quarter had a second board member that would meet the diversity requirements," a source told The Wall Street Journal.
  • The rules aren't immediate: If the SEC approves them, companies have a year to disclose their board breakdowns. Those that don't meet the requirements need to explain why.
  • The proposal would give companies several years to meet the requirements, the Journal notes.

Between the lines: Nasdaq believes that forcing disclosure will cause companies to comply, thus preempting delisting decisions.

The big picture: Other countries, especially in Europe, made mandatory quotas a legal issue.

  • Germany is now requiring at least one woman on any board that has three members, the Financial Times reports.
  • "Norway introduced gender quotas in 2003, while Iceland, Spain and France require that women fill 40% of supervisory board seats," NPR reports.

The bottom line: California's boardroom law has shown that this can broaden the pool of people who get added to corporate boards.

  • Of the 138 women who joined all-male California boards last year, 62% are serving on their first company board, Axios' Courtenay Brown reported earlier this year.

Go deeper: Axios Re:Cap today features Nasdaq's senior VP of corporate services to discuss the proposed policy rules. Listen here.

Go deeper

Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
Dec 22, 2020 - Economy & Business

The best news media corrections of 2020

Here's some levity to close out a difficult year, via my weekly Axios Media Trends newsletter:

  • December 16, The Associated Press: "In a story on December 15, 2020, about the Mexican and Brazilian presidents congratulating U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Biden’s first name is Jose. His name is Joe."
  • November 10, The New York Times: "An earlier version of this article misstated the activity on QAnon message boards on 8kun. One of the message boards about QAnon had fewer new posts than the board for adult-diaper fetishists, not the most active QAnon board."
  • October 30, The New York Times: "An earlier version of this article misstated who painted the cover artwork for Salem's "Fires in Heaven." It is Nicole Besack, not John Holland. It also incorrectly described what Jack Donoghue was doing during the interview. He was not vaping."
  • April 26, The Baltimore Sun: "The images in the 'Spot the difference' feature in the Sunday, April 26, editions were mistakenly the same image and not in fact different. The Baltimore Sun regrets the error."
  • April 24, The New York Times: "We've deleted an earlier tweet and updated a sentence in our article that implied that only "some experts" view the ingestion of household disinfectants as dangerous. To be clear, there is no debate on the danger."

Sign up here for Media Trends, out Tuesday mornings.

Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Stalemate over filibuster freezes Congress

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell's inability to quickly strike a deal on a power-sharing agreement in the new 50-50 Congress is slowing down everything from the confirmation of President Biden's nominees to Donald Trump's impeachment trial.

Why it matters: Whatever final stance Schumer takes on the stalemate, which largely comes down to Democrats wanting to use the legislative filibuster as leverage over Republicans, will be a signal of the level of hardball we should expect Democrats to play with Republicans in the new Senate.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Dave Lawler, author of World
2 hours ago - World

Biden opts for five-year extension of New START nuclear treaty with Russia

Putin at a military parade. Photo: Valya Egorshin/NurPhoto via Getty

President Biden will seek a five-year extension of the New START nuclear arms control pact with Russia before it expires on Feb. 5, senior officials told the Washington Post.

Why it matters: The 2010 treaty is the last remaining constraint on the arsenals of the world's two nuclear superpowers, limiting the number of deployed nuclear warheads and the bombers, missiles and submarines which can deliver them.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow