1 March, 2021

New ISS benchmarks increase the pressure for diverse boards

The US ratings agency recommends voting against directors of firms without racially or ethnically diverse board members from 2022. But details are lacking.

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Despite a lack of clear guidelines, Russell 3000 and S&P 1500 boards will need to demonstrate diversity or risk anti-management proxy votes. In the wake of a turbulent year where racial inequalities in America rocked the nation with ripple effects from Main Street to Wall Street, ISS is making history by becoming the first ESG rating agency to take a hard stance to increase ethnic and racial diversity in publicly traded American companies. The impact is clear: corporations can no longer merely talk the talk when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Indeed, they have a little more than a year to get their boards looking a lot more li

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Board composition, board diversity, diversity & inclusion, Elizabeth Saunders, ISS, proxy voting, Russell 3000, S&P 1500, US