The California Diversity and Inclusion Imperative: AB979 and SB826

California has made history yet again as a changing force in board diversity. California Assembly Bill 979 requires publicly held corporations in California to have at least one board director from an “underrepresented community” by the end of 2021. AB 979 follows in the footsteps of CA’s historic women on boards law (SB826) and is the first of its kind in the US.

Meet the drivers of AB 979 to explore how this came about, what it really means, and its implication on board diversity. We’ll dig into how the new law addresses the ethnic pay gap, promotes board diversification, and helps retain employees through company culture and development.

Underrepresented communities are defined in the bill as “an individual who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native, or who self-identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.”