Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2017

Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2017

This bill directs executive agencies to require any covered contractor (a for-profit business with gross receipts exceeding $1 billion for the previous year) awarded a contract of $5 million or more to submit, within 60 days:

• data on the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of such contractor's board of directors and senior executives;
• data on the affiliation of any such board member or executive to a historically underrepresented group, including veterans and individuals with disabilities; and
• any plan or strategy to improve the diversity of such board members or executives.

Each agency shall submit quarterly reports on such data to the General Services Administration, which shall report to Congress annually on the diversity of such contractor boards and executives.

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended to require each issuer of a registered security to disclose such data, plan, and strategy in its required annual report.

The Securities and Exchange Commission must revise corporate governance regulations to require that when the description is presented in a proxy or information statement relating to the election of directors, the nominee's qualities and skills, along with the nominee's gender, race, ethnicity, and affiliation with a historically underrepresented group, are presented in a chart or matrix form.