Diversity in Corporate Leadership Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-3367
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
Introduced: 2020-03-02
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Advisory bodies

Congressional oversight

Corporate finance and management

Employment discrimination and employee rights

Executive agency funding and structure

Government information and archives

Government studies and investigations

Minority employment

Racial and ethnic relations

Securities

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Women in business

Women's employment
Latest action: action_date: 2020-03-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-03-02
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Diversity in Corporate Leadership Act of 2020</b></p> <p>This bill requires each issuer to disclose, in any proxy or consent solicitation material for an annual shareholders meeting, the gender, racial, and ethnic composition of its board of directors and nominees for board membership.</p> <p>The Securities and Exchange Commission shall establish a Diversity Advisory Group, composed of government, academic, and private-sector representatives, to study strategies for increasing gender, racial, and ethnic diversity among the members of issuers' boards of directors.</p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3367 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 2, 2020 Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself, Ms. Smith , Mr. Van Hollen , Mrs. Feinstein , Ms. Duckworth , Ms. Rosen , and Ms. Klobuchar ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To require the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish a Diversity Advisory Group to study and make recommendations on strategies to increase gender, racial, and ethnic diversity among the members of the board of directors of issuers, to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to make disclosures to shareholders with respect to gender, racial, and ethnic diversity, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Diversity in Corporate Leadership Act of 2020 . 2. Diversity study and disclosures (a) Definitions In this section— (1) the term Advisory Group means the Diversity Advisory Group established under subsection (b); (2) the term Commission means the Securities and Exchange Commission; and (3) the term issuer has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78c ). (b) Diversity Advisory Group (1) Establishment The Commission shall establish a Diversity Advisory Group, which shall be composed of representatives from the Federal Government, academia, and the private sector. (2) Study and recommendations The Advisory Group shall— (A) carry out a study on strategies to increase gender, racial, and ethnic diversity among the members of the board of directors of issuers; and (B) not later than 9 months after the establishment of the Advisory Group, issue a report to the Commission, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives containing the findings and determinations made in carrying out the study under subparagraph (A), along with recommendations to increase gender, racial, and ethnic diversity among the members of the board of directors of issuers. (3) Annual report Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Advisory Group issues the report under paragraph (2)(B), and annually thereafter, the Commission shall issue a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives on the status of gender, racial, and ethnic diversity among the members of the board of directors of issuers. (4) Public availability of reports The Commission shall make all reports of the Advisory Group available to issuers and the public, including on the website of the Commission. (c) Disclosures The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 14B the following: 14C. Diversity disclosures The Commission shall, by rule, require each issuer to disclose, in any proxy or consent solicitation material for an annual meeting of the shareholders of the issuer, the gender, racial, and ethnic composition of the board of directors of the issuer and nominees for the board of directors. .