Hawaii-2020-HR84-Introduced

WHEREAS, there is a noticeable discrepancy between the number of women who hold seats on corporate boards as compared to men, with just 22.5 percent of Fortune 500 company board members being women, even though women make up approximately 50 percent of the population; and

WHEREAS, in 2013 the state of California passed a resolution encouraging equitable and diverse gender representation on corporate boards, with quota examples per number of board seats; and

WHEREAS, California passed a subsequent bill in 2018 that, depending on the number of director seats, requires a minimum number of women on every publicly held corporation; and

WHEREAS, a 2019 law in the state of Illinois requires public companies in the state to report information on the number of minorities who serve on corporate boards and self-identified genders of corporate board members, and share their plans to promote and diversify their board composition; and

WHEREAS, a McKinsey and Company study titled "Women Matter" found that companies with three or more women in senior management functions scored higher, on average, on McKinsey's nine metrics of organizational performance, than companies with no women at the top; and

WHEREAS, a Credit Suisse report titled "The CS Gender 3000: The Reward for Change" found that companies with at least one woman on the board of directors had an average return on equity of 12.2 percent, compared to 10.1 percent for companies with no female directors; and

WHEREAS, multiple states have conducted similar studies regarding women on corporate boards, such as an ongoing study in the state of New York and a 2019 study in the state of Colorado by the Women's Leadership Foundation; and

WHEREAS, a New York Law Journal study published in March of 2016 titled "Corporate Governance Update: Gender Diversity on Boards: The Future is Almost Here" concluded that a combination of regulatory, legislative, and investor-driven efforts would accelerate the progress of gender diversity and, eventually, gender parity on public company boards; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to conduct a study and survey relating to gender representation on the boards of public and private for-profit and nonprofit corporations in the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to seek input from the Department of Taxation; American Association of University Women Hawaii Chapter; Hawaii Employers Council; Hawaii Business Roundtable; and Hawaii Executive Collaborative; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study should collect data, through surveys or other data collection methods, and:

(1) Identify the number of women directors who serve on boards of directors of public and private for-profit and nonprofit corporations authorized to do business in the State, including paid and unpaid board positions;

(2) Analyze the change in number of women directors from previous years;

(3) Examine the number of women directors in the State relative to other states in the United States, and globally;

(4) Examine literature on the social and economic impact for companies who have women directors; and

(5) Examine other laws and policy proposals across the United States related to gender diversity and parity mandates in different industries; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to submit a report, including findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2021; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations; Director of Taxation; President of the American Association of University Women Hawaii Chapter; President of the Hawaii Employers Council; Chair of the Hawaii Business Roundtable; and Chair of the Hawaii Executive Collaborative.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Women's Legislative Caucus; Study; Gender Representation; DLIR

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	84
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII