*By Bridgette Webb*
Corporate boards are often much smaller than the companies they serve, but their importance shouldn't be underestimated, said Ăsa Regnér, UN Women's deputy executive director.
"Boards influence people's lives, so it's really important who is on those boards," Regnér said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
That is perhaps why California just passed new legislation that requires public companies in the state to have at least one woman on their boards by the end of 2019. By 2021, a minimum of two women must sit on boards of five or more; three, when boards have more than six people.
For Regnér, it's about corporate America leading by example.
"I think these kinds of legislation are normally really good," she said. It's important "to ask people to actually shape up and do something about the injustice that we see."
But the law didn't sail through without opposition. Many argued it's not the government's right to dictate a company's board, and others argued the law may prioritize gender over other critical kinds of diversity ー like race and ethnicity, for example.
Regnér disagreed.
"There is already a quota going on, but it is an informal quota which favors men with a certain background," she said. "I don't think there is a contradiction to other backgrounds, this is one step I don't think \[demographics\] should fight each other."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/%20Fostering%20an%20Unstereotyped%20Culture).
Donald Trump is winning over swing state voters including in several states even leaning toward President Joe Biden, according to a recent poll by Bloomberg and Morning Consult.
A Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent,” her employer said Thursday.
Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia, becoming the second defendant in the sprawling case to reach a deal with prosecutors.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan failed again Wednesday on a crucial second ballot to become House speaker, the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump losing even more GOP colleagues who refused to give him the the gavel.
Former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew testified at his own confirmation hearing for the role of U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
The Pentagon has released video of what it calls coercive and risky maneuvers conducted by Chinese jets, saying there have been over 180 incidents that have fallen into this pattern.
The Pentagon has released videos of what it calls coercive and risky maneuvers conducted by Chinese jets, saying there have been over 180 incidents that have fallen into this pattern.
President Joe Biden is arriving in Israel for a lightning round of diplomatic efforts.
Here's what to know ahead of voting for House Speaker.
The IRS plans to invite select taxpayers across 13 states to try out the agency's pilot electronic free file tax return system beginning in January.
