SEC’s Peirce Finds Diversity Quotas ‘Offensive’

Diversity requirements for corporate boards and other groups aren’t just a concern for Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, they’re also a personal affront.

Standards aimed at bringing diverse perspectives to business groups by mandating the inclusion of women are “offensive” as a woman, Peirce said Nov. 19 in Washington. Such criteria assumes all women have the same views, and it doesn’t matter which one gets included, she said.

“By putting people in these little boxes, we make massive assumptions about how they think and that takes away their humanity,” Peirce said at a Women in Housing and Finance luncheon.

The Republican’s remarks were the latest salvo in her fight against government directives for board diversity. She previously has taken aim at California’s first-in-the-nation requirement for women on corporate boards, saying companies should make gender diversity decisions on their own. The mandate, which became law in 2018, is facing multiple lawsuits.

But people pushing for diversity have “really good objectives” as they work to ensure more knowledge is tapped, Peirce said.

“I am ultimately optimistic we can get to a better place,” she said.