The leftist paradise known as California is poised to require corporations to have racial and sexual orientation quotas for Board of Director positions to better reflect the “diversity” of the state.
Via NBC’s Los Angeles affiliate KTLA:
The diversity bill approved by the Senate would require California-based public corporations to have one board director from an underrepresented community by the end of 2021. It passed on a 26-8 roll call and now returns to the Assembly for a final vote.
Those who qualify would self-identify as Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Alaska Native, or as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
The measure would require a minimum of two such directors by the end of 2022 on boards with four to nine directors, and at least three such directors on boards with nine or more directors. Firms that don’t comply would face fines of $100,00 for first violations and $300,000 for repeated violations.
“Corporations do not reflect the vast cultural wealth in this state.,” said Democratic Sen. Benjamin Hueso of San Diego.
For instance, he said 87% of the state’s 662 public companies do not have any Latino directors, yet Latinos make up 39% of the state’s population.
“They are severely underrepresented in the boardroom,” Hueso said. “California is better than this. We are the most diverse state in the nation, and our corporations need to emulate our diversity.”
Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, chairman of the Legislature’s LGBTQ Caucus, said current boards are often “sort of an old boys network.”
“I think positions should be earned,” countered Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove of Bakersfield. “In private business, boards should be elected and people should be put on boards that best represent the business, and that can be anybody’s skin color.”
Just when states like California need to woo businesses to stay headquartered in the state they do everything in their power to chase them out.
Demanding racial and sexual orientation quotas for corporations is a sure-fire recipe for disaster.
Businesses need to fill positions, especially important executive level ones, with the very best and most qualified people possible.
To base who gets these positions on anything else but merit is ridiculous and wrong but when has that ever stopped a Democrat from doing something stupid?