Unions urge more female representation in corporate boardrooms

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_5303

By Brandon Rees
5 August 2012

WASHINGTON - The AFL-CIO recently joined with other investors to ask corporations to nominate more women as directors.

AFL-CIO’s Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler co-signed a letter with state officials from California, New York, Washington, Massachusetts and other states, as well as executives from the nation’s largest state pension funds, mutual fund companies and women’s organizations.

Investors sent the letter to the nominating committees of S&P 500 companies that do not have any women on their boards. These nominating committees select the director candidates whom shareholders are asked to approve at company annual meetings. Research shows that companies with women directors “are better-governed, better-managed and have better long-term growth prospects,” explained the letter.

Just this month, the investment bank Credit Suisse released a new report showing that companies with at least one woman on their board of directors outperform companies without any women directors. The report suggested that companies with diverse boards are better able to consider alternative viewpoints and solve problems than a group of like-minded individuals.

FULL story at link.