[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 36 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF THE GENDER DIVERSITY IN CORPORATE LEADERSHIP ACT

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                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 7, 2016

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to 
introduce the Gender Diversity in Corporate Leadership Act, common-
sense legislation to address the striking gender disparity in America's 
corporate boardrooms.
  A recent GAO report found that women hold only about 16 percent of 
board seats at S&P 1500 companies, up from 8 percent in 1997. While 
this is progress, even if women comprise half of new board members from 
this point forward, the report estimated it would take over 40 years to 
reach gender parity.
  My legislation would take a few simple steps to collect data to 
better define this disparity and encourage businesses to take steps to 
diversify their boards. By requiring publicly-traded companies to 
report the gender composition of their boards, we will make it easy for 
investors and other organizations to evaluate board diversity.
  The evidence is clear, companies with diverse leadership are better-
positioned to succeed. Indeed, a recent report published by MSCI found 
that companies with ``strong female leadership'' (either above-average 
board representation or a female CEO and at least one female board 
member) generated a higher return on equity and valuation than 
companies lacking female leadership. That finding follows a 2014 Credit 
Suisse report that found companies with at least one woman on their 
board outperformed other companies by 5 percent from the start of 2012-
June 2014.
  I am proud that the Gender Diversity in Corporate Leadership Act is 
supported by a strong coalition of business leaders like the U.S. 
Chamber of Commerce as well as leading voices to promote workplace 
diversity like Catalyst and the National Women's Law Center. I want to 
commend these groups for their work on these issues, as well as my 
original co-sponsors Reps. Don Beyer and Debbie Dingell for their 
partnership on this important legislation.

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