Washington, D.C. – Academic experts in business, management, and economics today submitted a brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), arguing that a challenge to the SEC’s approval of the NASDAQ corporate board diversity rule should be rejected because it ignores the evidence of the benefits of board diversity. 

“NASDAQ’s rule change was grounded in law, supported by substantial evidence, and was rightly upheld by the Fifth Circuit last October,” said Aman George, Senior Counsel with Democracy Forward, which along with Lambda Legal is representing the experts in submitting their brief in the case. “Thanks to this brief, the Court will better understand the relationship between greater board diversity and positive outcomes for companies and shareholders.” 

Last October, a panel of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the challenge to the SEC’s approval of the NASDAQ corporate board diversity rule, which requires NASDAQ-listed companies to have two “diverse” members on their corporate board or explain why they don’t. Now, as the case is reconsidered by the full Fifth Circuit, Democracy Forward and Lambda Legal are representing academic experts in business, management, and economics in submitting a brief supporting NASDAQ’s diversity rule, and the SEC’s approval of the rule. 

For more information about the case, please visit https://democracyforward.org/work/defending-efforts-to-promote-corporate-board-diversity and to read the full brief, please click here. 

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