Nasdaq Rule May Open Up Hundreds of New Diverse Board Slots

Hundreds of companies trading on the Nasdaq Inc. stock exchange may be forced to add diverse directors for the first time or explain why they haven’t, after U.S. regulators cleared the way for new listing requirements.

More than a third of companies trading on the Nasdaq lack a racially diverse director, and more than one in 10 have no female directors, according to an analysis by ISS Corporate Solutions of 2,284 companies where data were available. About 8% had neither a woman nor person of color on the board, the data showed. More than 3,000 stocks trade on the exchange ...