States Working to Promote Equity on Boards

Iowa is the Only State Requiring a Gender Balance on County and State Boards

In 1987, the Iowa State legislature passed a law mandating gender balance on state boards and commissions. In 2009, the Iowa legislature passed a bill that also required gender balance on city and county-level public boards and commissions.

California Becomes 1st State To Require Women On Corporate Boards

On 2018, Democratic Governor Jerry Brown signed California Senate Bill 826, which requires publicly held companies based in California to have a minimum of one woman on their boards of directors by the end of 2019.

New Jersey Follows California in Measure to Add Women to Boards

A new bill in the New Jersey legislature would require many public companies based in the state to have at least three women on the board by 2021.

Illinois General Assembly passes bill to require annual reporting of board diversity information

On June, 2019, The Illinois General Assembly passed a bill (the “Diversity Disclosure Bill”) requiring most publicly held companies organized or headquartered in Illinois to include detailed demographic diversity information in their annual reports.

Pennsylvania House Passes Resolution to Boost Number of Women on Boards

During the 2017 legislative session, Pennsylvania passed HR 273, urging every business in the state to reach a membership of women at 30 percent of all board members by 2020.

Colorado was the 4th state to pass Legislative Resolution encouraging more women on boards

Colorado’s General Assembly passed a legislative resolution (HJR 17-1017) calling for equitable and diverse gender representation on the boards of publicly held corporations headquartered in Colorado.

Michigan: Representation Requirements on the Horizon

Michigan’s Senate Bill No. 115, still with the Senate Committee on Economic and Small Business Development as of June 2019, closely mirrors California Senate Bill 826. If enacted, domestic and foreign publicly held corporations with principal executive offices in Michigan would have to have at least one female director as of January 1st, 2021.