NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two organizations representing people with disabilities asked Nasdaq Inc on Tuesday to be more inclusive in the exchange operator’s proposal to require all of its listed companies to adopt new rules related to board diversity.
Nasdaq in December proposed new rules that will require most Nasdaq-listed companies to have, or publicly explain why they do not, at least two diverse board directors, including one who self-identifies as female and one who self-identifies as either an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+.
People with disabilities should be included in Nasdaq’s definition of an underrepresented minority given their extreme social isolation, economic isolation and economic inequality, said Ted Kennedy Jr, chairman of the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD).
