fizkes/Getty Images
While certain regulations could include fines for companies that fail to comply, others are advisory.
For now, experts say the real pressure to increase board diversity is coming from company investors.
Companies have long been talking about how their boards need to be more diverse. But now the legal landscape is changing, with some states mandating that companies do more than talk.
In Illinois, for instance, boards of publicly owned companies are required to disclose female and minority board membership, as well as how they identify and appoint those members. California has gone even further, mandating that boards have at least one woman, as well as a certain number of directors from underrepresented racial, ethnic, or LGBTQ communities. Other states, including Washington, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, have also passed legislation to encourage diverse boards, and more are considering this step.
Vyzr Technologies
Innovation expert Paul Earle predicts consumers will have an appetite for new experiences and products this year.
Brands can level up with offerings that exude warmth and kindness to make people feel happy and connected.
Earle says being conscious of customers habits and lifestyle needs is key going forward.
When the pandemic hit, most businesses recalibrated quickly. In many industries, this meant a lot of retrenching: cutting back on services, or for retailers, focusing on basic staples. So while there was plenty of innovation in terms of how companies served customers, there was a lull in the development of new products.
Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty
Economic recovery in early 2021 is less than likely, predicts Kellogg professor of finance Phillip Braun, especially with recent surges in COVID-19 cases and new lockdown restrictions.
Despite the rollout of vaccines and stimulus packages, Braun expects unemployment to rise early in the year and more small businesses to shut down.
He also believes funding, job growth, and state budgets will dictate the job market in the post-pandemic world, though he can t think of any one sector of the economy that is going to really rebound quickly.
The year 2020 may be in the rearview mirror, but much of the economic uncertainty that characterized it is still with us. While the US economy appeared on the brink of recovery in October, the virus surge of November and December dimmed the prospects for a strong rebound in early 2021.