Boston Business Journal
By Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Andrea Silbert
November 23, 2021
The stock exchange’s new rule takes on crony capitalism, which for far too long has allowed powerful people to make decisions in the interests of their own restricted group and reserve the spoils of business performance for their own use.
As The Boston Club’s corporate census has identified, Massachusetts is moving the needle on the advancement of women and people of color in the business community. In our work, we measure this data year after year, and we are seeing incremental progress, but it is crucial to implement mandates and practice intentionality to continue leading the way.
The recently implemented Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule, approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in April, is one step along the way toward achieving equity in the business community. The mandate requires companies to publicly disclose the gender and racial makeup of their boards and should be followed by similar requirements around executive leadership, particularly the for C-suite. Policies like this, when done right, have the power to continue to drive change and create equity in the boardroom and beyond.
