California, where many companies are based, passed laws that require greater diversity on corporate boards — and these appear to have had an impact. One, passed in 2018, requires boards of public companies with their principal executive office in the state to have at least two female directors, and the other, passed in 2020, says boards must have one or more directors from an “underrepresented community,” which includes people of several races and ethnic groups and people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Other states have introduced legislation that would require boards to have a certain number of women.
