California will force these companies to hire female board directors
Some California-based companies are headed for a board shake-up this year.
In 2018, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law California Senate Bill 826, which requires publicly held companies based in the state to have a minimum of one woman on their boards of directors by the end of 2019. By the end of July 2021, companies have to hire at least two more women on boards of five members and at least three women on boards with six or more. Firms failing to comply will face a fine.
Although a lot of large corporations based in California will not need to hire additional women to their boards, about a quarter of California’s 445 publicly traded companies don’t have a single woman on their boards, according to KQED News.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest companies that will likely be affected by the bill, if it is able to pass legal muster (more than 30 business groups oppose the law, although there no legal action taken has taken place).
TiVo: There are no women on the entertainment technology firm’s seven-member board of directors. In order to comply with the law, that means it needs to hire one woman by the end of 2019, and three by the end of 2021.
Skechers USA Inc.: The shoemaker’s nine-person board is compiled entirely of men, meaning it needs to hire at least one woman by the end of the year.
Apple: The iPhone-maker has an eight-member board, but only two of those directors are women. In order to avoid a fine, Apple, which is headquartered in Cupertino, will need to hire at least one more woman by the end of 2021.
Alphabet Inc.: The parent company of Google will also be required to hire another woman to its 11-person board by the end of 2021. It currently has two female board directors, compared to its nine male board members.
Facebook: In order to meet the new law, Facebook will likewise need to hire one more female board director by the end of 2021. There are two women and seven men on its board.