Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs Asset Management will be looking for portfolio companies to have at least one director from an under-represented group (gender identity, sexual orientation and under-represented race and ethnic groups) in addition to at least one woman, on their boards next year; however, the investor won't impose a quota or penalize companies for not meeting this criteria, purportedly due to the challenges associated with obtaining the data. According to Reuters' interview with Global Stewardship Team leader Catherine Winner, a board with two white women would meet the standard.
GSAM's 2020 proxy guidelines provided for a vote against nominating committees of boards lacking at least one woman director. Earlier this year, we reported that Goldman planned to condition its IPO investment banking services on companies having at least one diverse board candidate, with a focus on women; that policy kicked in July 1.
See also GSAM's 2020 Annual Stewardship Report and additional information & resources on our Board Diversity and Institutional Investors pages.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!