Technical giants Alphabet and Microsoft have steered away from common norms to report their board diversity through unconventional means such as check marks and dots in tables. In contrast, companies such as Tesla and Amazon provide their shareholders with diverse director numbers using straightforward charts.
The variation in reporting methods has been a result of Nasdaq’s requirements for all companies listed on the stock exchange to annually report board diversity. This regulation, implemented in 2022, aimed to promote transparency and inclusivity in corporate governance. The diverse formats, while innovative, have made inter-company comparisons challenging.
The most common approach employed by the majority of Nasdaq 100 companies is a close adherence to the exchange’s diversity reporting templates. These templates prominently display the total number of women and minority group members on company boards. This information was substantiated by a Bloomberg Law review of the 2023 disclosures of Nasdaq 100 companies.
However, a minority of these companies, including Alphabet and Microsoft, have opted for an alternative approach to high-level diversity reporting than Nasdaq’s guide.
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