Securities and Exchange Commission staff are working on a proposed rule that would require public companies to include in their proxy statement “meaningful disclosures” of the race, sex and ethnicity of their board members and board nominees, SEC Chairman Mary Jo White said in a speech yesterday. The disclosures would be based on voluntary self-reporting by directors, she said.
“My view is that the SEC has a responsibility to ensure that our disclosure rules are serving their intended purpose of meaningfully informing investors,” she said, referring to the agency’s 2009 rule requiring companies to disclose whether and how their nominating committees consider diversity. “This rule does not and it should be changed.”
