A proposal being discussed by B3, operator of the Brazilian stock exchange, wants to establish rules to increase gender diversity and representation in high leadership positions in Brazilian companies.
The proposal was put to public hearing last week and aims to make companies listed on B3 elect at least one woman and one member of a minority group to hold a position on the board of directors or statutory board. As members of this minority group, B3 listed black or brown people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community or people with disabilities.
Until September 16, B3 will receive contributions from society to establish these rules through the entity email. The forecast is that the final text, already with the rules determined, can come into force next year.
According to B3, the proposal provides that companies that are unable to advance in this action will have to indicate to the market and to investors in general the reasons that made these rules unfeasible, in a mechanism known as ‘practice or explain’. Companies would have up to 2 years, after the rule comes into force, to adapt to the rules. That is, by 2025 they need to prove the election of the first member or provide justifications for not complying with the measure.
Of the 423 companies currently listed on B3, around 60% do not have any women among their statutory directors and 37% do not have any women on their board of directors. There is still no data on race and ethnicity, but a survey carried out with 73 companies showed that 79% of them responded that they had up to 11% of black people in management positions.
