California’s unprecedented push to create racial diversity quotas for corporate boards would move the companies there into uncharted territory, raising a host of legal questions and further empowering change-driven shareholders.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has until Sept. 30 to sign legislation passed this week requiring publicly traded corporation boards to include directors from underrepresented groups, including Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
If inked, the bill is likely to encounter court challenges akin to the lawsuits fighting California’s mandate that corporations add female board members. Companies would have to scramble—with the help of ...