On August 6, the Securities Exchanges Commission (SEC) announced its approval of NASDAQ proposal to change its listing rules related to board diversity (“Board Diversity Proposal”).

The Board Diversity Proposal, subject to the ‘comply or explain’ principle, requires entities with a board of directors of five or fewer members to have at least one member of its board of directors who is Diverse, including at least one Diverse director who self-identifies as Female and at least one Diverse director who self-identifies as an Underrepresented Minority or LGBTQ+.

Each Nasdaq-listed company would be required to disclose annually to the public its board-level diversity data.