State to study gender makeup of boards of firms that do business in NY

A New York State study of women's representation on corporate boards aims to  lower gender-based hurdles, government and business officials said.

On Monday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation requiring New York's  Department of State and Department of Taxation and Finance to publish reports on the number of women directors on boards of corporations doing business in New York.

Anita D'Amico, chief executive and a board member of Code Dx Inc., a software security company in Northport, said that the state's initiative was encouraging.

"This will provide us with a useful insight into board diversity," she said. "It will raise companies' awareness of the role that women ...  can play on boards."

A 2018 Newsday study of the Long Island's top 25 public companies ranked by revenue showed that women occupied 13.6% of board seats compared with 8.3% on the same companies in 2008.

Among S&P 500 companies nationwide, women held 21.2% of board seats, according to a December study by Catalyst, a Manhattan-based nonprofit advocacy group that promotes the advancement of women in the workplace.

In July, the last all-male board on the S&P 500 broke its gender barrier when Copart Inc., a Dallas online car auction site, added a woman board member, according to Bloomberg.

In addition to tabulating the number of women on boards, the legislation will require corporations to prepare an annual report on actions taken to promote gender diversity on their boards.

The Department of State will publish the first study of board diversity no later than February 1, 2022, and an updated report every four years.

"This new study will help shed light on the problem and guide the development of new policies to ensure more women have a seat at the proverbial table," Cuomo said in a statement.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.