California Says Goodbye to the All-Male Board of Directors

The good old days.

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Sometimes the best way to get social change is to tell people they just have to do it:

California last year embarked on a unique social and political experiment in the U.S. What would happen if the government required corporate boards to include female directors? The answer: Companies would add them in droves. Ninety-three California-based members of the Russell 3000—an index which includes most public companies on major U.S. stock exchanges—had all-male boards when the law was signed on Sept. 30, 2018, according to Equilar, a corporate governance-data firm. As of this Nov. 22, the most-recent date for which comprehensive data are available, that number had dropped to 17. A few companies have since said that they have added female board members as the year-end deadline for compliance nears.

In the year 2019 it should not be a huge inconvenience to find at least one woman who can sit on your board. Just do it, for God’s sake.

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And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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