SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce criticized efforts that would mandate gender requirements for the boards of public companies.
In a speech before the Society for Corporate Governance National Conference, Ms. Peirce criticized such legislation and advocacy efforts, noting that - without explicit mandates - there has been a steady increase from 14.9 percent to 19.8 percent in the number of women corporate directors at Fortune 1000 companies between 2011 and 2017. Ms. Peirce stated her belief that requiring women to be included on boards would not have the desired effect and that, instead, requirements would (i) "inappropriately" micromanage corporate governance, (ii) increase the costs of being a public company, (iii) improperly federalize corporate governance and override private sector decisions, and (iv) "undermin[e] the talented women who are and will in the future be on boards." Ms. Pierce pointed to a study showing that, in countries like Norway that have gender quotas, legislation like this can lead to a decrease in the overall number of female board members by pushing public companies to become private.
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