Toggle open close
The Nasdaq Stock Exchange (Nasdaq)REF is the second-largest stock exchange in the world.REF Approximately 2,900 U.S. companies and 600 foreign companies list their stock on Nasdaq.REF It is also a so-called self-regulatory organization (SRO) that has been delegated regulatory authority by Congress and by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission, or SEC).REF Nasdaq imposes and enforces detailed rules on the companies it lists,REF but these rules must be approved by the SEC.REF Invoking the imperatives of the “social justice movement”REF and the “benefits to stakeholders of increased diversity,”REF Nasdaq is seeking SEC approval to impose a corporate governance rule that would require all listed companies to appoint directors based on sex. Many of these companies would also have to appoint directors on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.REF