BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY2 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Gender equity lacks in the country because, for a very long time, males have dominated over their female counterparts in nearly all the sectors of economy. Over the years, the Board of Directors of many (blue chip) organizations have been reserved for or dominated by men. As a progressive American, I would like to commend the state government of California for enacting Gender-Diverse BOD, a new law that has introduced a quota system in the boards of all the publicly traded companies within the state. According to this law, all companies should have at least two female members in its board (von Meyerinck, Niessen-Ruenzi, Schmid & Davidoff Solomon, 2018). This legislation has elicited a mixed reaction. While there is a section of the people who support it, others oppose it. In his article, Mercahant opposes the move by claiming that it is a bad thing to do. However, on his part, O’Brien agrees by saying that the women are actually needed to constitute the boards. Similar position is taken by Marks who argue that women must be empowered and given such opportunities because, unlike men, they face so many challenges. I would like to agree with O’Brien and Mark. In my opinion, the state government of California has done a good thing. There are many reasons why the number of women in the boards should be increased and safeguarded. First, it can eradicate the culture of gender inequality and shift the society towards attaining the much desired gender equity. The change will not only create opportunities to the women, but will be inspirational to all the women across the state (Brieger, Francoeur, Welzel & Ben-Amar, 2019). Besides, the inclusion of women in the boards can improve the availability of women in the board boosts the morale of employees and clients. That happens because they want to associate with female leadership.
BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY3 All these indicate that the women should be given more opportunities to join boards. It is, indeed, a noble affirmative idea that should be emulated by all the other states in the country.
BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY4 References Brieger, S. A., Francoeur, C., Welzel, C., & Ben-Amar, W. (2019). Empowering women: The role of emancipative forces in board gender diversity. Journal of Business Ethics, 155(2), 495-511. von Meyerinck, F., Niessen-Ruenzi, A., Schmid, M., & Davidoff Solomon, S. (2018). As California goes, so goes the nation? The impact of board gender quotas on firm performance and the director labor market. The impact of board gender quotas on firm performance and the director labor market (December 19, 2018).