Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) this week reintroduced the Improving Corporate Governance through Diversity Act, a bill that would require public companies to disclose annually the self-reported racial, ethnic and gender composition and veteran status of their board members, board nominees and executive officers, as well as whether they have adopted policies or strategies to promote board and executive diversity.
The bill would also require the Treasury Department’s director of the office of minority and women inclusion to report annually to the Securities and Exchange Commission on best practices and compliance, and would establish a diversity advocacy group that would report to Congress on the status of corporate diversity.
The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) last year, and was supported by the American Bankers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other financial trade groups. The House passed the bill in the last Congress, but it was never taken up in the Senate.
