Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon made waves at the World Economic Forum in Davos by announcing that the investment bank will no longer take companies public unless their board of directors has at least one “diverse” member. Solomon’s announcement drew attention to the lack of diversity among private companies, which have faced less scrutiny and pressure than public traded firms to include more women and minorities in their top ranks. In an interview with CNBC last week, Solomon said Goldman Sachs would implement its new policy in
the U.S. and Europe starting in July, “with a focus on women.” He said the investment bank would start requesting two diverse board members in 2021. Women hold 19% of board seats on Russell 3000 companies, according to ISS Analytics. Among S&P 500 companies, women hold 27% of board seats. As of last year, there were no S&P 500 companies with all-male boards. By contrast, 48% of the 185 U.S. companies that announced or completed initial public offerings in 2019 had all-male boards, according to PitchBook data shared with The Associated Press.