In August 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved new board diversity listing standards for companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq). As part of these new listing standards, Nasdaq Rule 5606 now requires listed companies to annually disclose aggregated statistical information about the board’s self-identified gender and racial characteristics and LGBTQ+ status in a standardized board diversity matrix (Board Diversity Matrix).
Under the first phase of these new listing standards, companies were required to include the Board Diversity Matrix in their proxy statement or on their website for the first time in 2022. Under Nasdaq Rule 5606(a), after the first year of disclosure, “all companies must disclose the current year and immediately prior year diversity statistics using the Board Diversity Matrix.”
Nasdaq later published FAQ 1753 clarifying that “if…
