Banking and Financial Service Democrats Urge SEC to Require Reporting on Diversity

House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-OH) called on the SEC "to require the disclosure of standardized data of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status." They urged the SEC to include such a requirement "in all future rulemaking related to human capital management," and supported requiring such disclosure in EEO-1 filings.

In a letter to the SEC, the Committee Chairs asserted that disclosures should require information on corporate board, executive leadership and workforce diversity data. They cited research that found that diversity on company boards leads to improved financial results when compared to companies with little or no diversity. They argued that adding such disclosure will increase accountability and transparency, while "closing decades-old employment gaps among men and women, as well as people of color."

In addition, the Committee Chairs recommended that the SEC require firms to disclose supplier diversity and procurements data so that shareholders know exactly how and with whom their investments are being spent.

Ms. Waters and Senator Brown said that "[p]roviding guidance on human capital reporting is a priority for Congress and shareholders."